Pakistan Environment Protection Agency's Vehicle Emission Testing team in co-ordination with the Islamabad Traffic Police during the month of January checked 1,337 vehicles, out of which 1,169 were found complying with the national standards while 168 were found causing pollution and issued red stickers and warnings.
Sharing the Data Report of the checked vehicles with Business Recorder here on Thursday, sources said that the team has checked total 29,862 vehicles of different organisations since May 2005. Out of the total, 26,377 were cleared and remaining 3,485 were found to be causing pollution and issued warning tickets. During this period, 569 vehicles were challaned and 2,596 were rechecked, sources added.
From May 2005 to January 2008, the total number of vehicles on diesel was 17,216 out of which 15,332 were cleared and 1,884 non-compliance while total vehicles on CNG were 11,435 out of which 10,171 were cleared and 1,264 were found to be polluting. The total number of vehicles on petrol was 1,211 out of which 874 were cleared and 337 issued warnings.
In January this year, the total number of challaned vehicles was 21 and rechecked vehicles were 28. The total number of vehicles on diesel was 712 out of which 636 were issued green ticket and 76 red. The total number of vehicles on CNG was 513 out of which 460 were issued green tickets and 53 red. Whereas total 112 vehicles on petrol were checked out of which 73 were issued green tickets and 39 red.
Talking to Business Recorder the officials of Ministry of Environment said that the emission from motor vehicles is a serious and a significant source of air pollution in the country.
These pollutants cause health problems as well as degrade the environment and quality of life. In particular, diesel-driven vehicles emit particulates that are very fine and a large proportion of them are less than 2.5 microns in size.
"The level of air pollution in cities is still not known because very little information is available on vehicular emissions in the country. It is no doubt a big challenge for the ministry and the concerned authorities working in this area," said the officials. The officials said it has been noted that the vehicular pollution in highly congested urban centers where movement of air is minimal is a major environmental problem, leading to human health hazards and also contributing to global warming.
Sharing the details, the officials said that the problem is of double-edge; firstly, the number of vehicles on the road is increasing constantly due to leasing system by the banks and secondly, old model automobiles which have completed their lifetime are in use as the people lack enough resources to buy new automobiles and the country cannot afford to spend foreign exchange for this purpose.
"Such automobiles are not energy efficient rather these emit more hazardous gases than the standards established by the auto industry in most industrialised countries," added officials. Besides, another major impediment in improving urban air quality, the ministry and the concerned departments are facing the lack of awareness and education among mechanics and automobile owners about vehicular pollution. However, up till now the government has received assistance from national and international agencies but unfortunately no improvement has been seen.
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