What’s the status of overage govt cars: MPHRC seeks report on vehicles older than 15 years

Bhopal: Expressing serious concern over poor air quality in Bhopal, the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has directed principal secretary of urban administration and development to inquire the status of vehicles older than fifteen years being utilized in various municipal bodies of state capital and sought an action taken report on Friday.In last few week, Bhopal has experienced an Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging between 200 and 300. In response to this, the pollution control board, municipal corporation, and traffic police have initiated checks on the Pollution Under Control (PUC) of vehicles. However, there is a lack of attention to the presence of age-old vehicles across different departments.Within the Bhopal municipal corporation, vehicles exceeding fifty years in age, including cars, jeeps, and other types, continue to operate without valid PUC and fitness certifications. The record of such vehicles was not available with the authorities concerned.The deteriorating air quality in Bhopal and other cities of Madhya Pradesh has been a persistent concern for several days. Post-Diwali, fireworks have exacerbated air pollution, affecting the respiratory health of the city. The air quality in Bhopal has consistently remained in the very poor to poor range since Diwali, with no improvement observed over the past fortnight.Bhopal’s air has been deemed unfit to breathe for nearly two weeks, primarily attributed to factors such as damaged roads, airborne dust from vehicles, increased construction activities after rainfall, and the bonfires during winters. The hope for relief lies in expected rainfall as the showers could temporarily reduces dust levels and vehicular pollution, contributing to an improvement in air quality. Meanwhile, experts point out that apart from local factors like people burning tyres, crackers and plastic during cold nights that lead to pollution levels going up, weather also plays a role in the air quality.According to the meteorological department, Bhopal circle, with winds blowing from Punjab and Delhi over the state, affect the air quality of various cities of Madhya Pradesh during this season. Addtionally, the pollutants tend to concentrate in the low troposphere as temperatures drop. Air quality is measured taking into account the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (Nox), RSPM10 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. Of the four, officials said, PM2.5 is the most harmful to health and causes severe lung diseases. PM 10 is due to dust, construction, including building of roads while PM2.5 is due to dust, human activity and climatic conditions.