Kamal Ghorui
Patna: While hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) instituted suo motu on a news report published by TOI titled “Bihar’s 10 cities record country’s worst AQI”, which appeared on Dec 14, 2022, the Patna high court sought an action taken report (ATR) from the state’s transport department regarding the implementation of the Motor Vehicle (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules in Bihar. The rules, framed and notified by the central govt, came into effect from Sept 25, 2021, making it mandatory for all state govts to prohibit the plying of 15-year-old commercial vehicles on roads and to provide scrapping plants for the disposal of such defunct vehicles through an environmentally friendly recycling process.A division bench comprising chief justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and justice Harish Kumar passed the order on Monday while hearing the PIL. Through this PIL, the Patna high court has been monitoring the state govt’s actions to control air pollution in Bihar.The court’s order came in the wake of submissions on the relevant motor vehicle laws made by an advocate who has been appointed as amicus curiae (friend of court) in the matter. He also apprised the court of various provisions of the Motor Vehicle Rules, 2021, relating to certificates of vehicle scrapping issued by registered scrappers and scrapping yards, collection centres for defunct vehicles, and treatment plants for environmentally sound recycling processes, the definitions of which have been clearly provided in the 2021 rules. The two judges sought exact data on the availability of registered scrappers, collection centres and recycling plants in Bihar.The matter will be heard again on April 27.
