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Kathmandu Thursday November 15, 2001 Kartik 30, 2058.
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Ancient
vehicles spared the ban, for now
By Surendra Phuyal
KATHMANDU, Nov 14
– The government has doled out a major Tihar gift to the Valley’s more
than 11,000 owners of 20-plus-year-old vehicles: it has quietly decided to put on hold the
controversial ban on old vehicles which otherwise would have come into effect on November
16.
Constantly hounded by
transport entrepreneurs - who went on to stage nationwide protests against the
one-year-old decision - higher ups at the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE)
are busy reconsidering the decision. "The plan has been put off for the time being,
and we are re-working on it," a highly placed official at the MOPE told The Kathmandu
Post.
And what actually
forced a rethink of the decision was the recommendations made by a committee, headed by
National Planning Commission Member, Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel that was formed by the
government in the wake of mounting protests from the entrepreneurs.
The committee - and
three sub-committees of finance, technical and traffic management – has said in the
report submitted at the MOPE last month: "A vehicle more than 20 years old does not
mean that it pollutes the environment. This looks like a decision taken in a
haste…without enough home work and preparations and hence it is impractical."
While pointing out the
necessity to channel millions of rupees in grant - something, officials say the government
cannot afford to - to the entrepreneurs who might need to bring in new vehicles to replace
the old ones, the committee, among others, suggested that rigorous emission tests be done
on the vehicles and those repeatedly failing them be driven out of the Valley.
Having succeeded in
forcing the government reconsider the decision, the entrepreneurs are apparently elated.
Said Sarad Upreti, the former president of the Federation of Nepalese Transport
Entrepreneurs (FNTE), who led the nationwide protests early this year: "It was simply
impractical. It’s good that the plan has been put off, we are expecting something
practical, do-able."
Officials at the MOPE
privately acknowledge that the decision indeed was taken in haste and assert that
approaches and measures to improve the city’s air quality would be forthcoming.
"Our plans have not failed," the MOPE official said. "It’s only that
we are re-working. We will soon come up with a fresh announcement and do something about
it."
But the Tihar gift has
come at the cost of the World Heritage city’s pristine environment and health of the
Valley’s nearly 2 million people. Countless studies conducted in recent times have
shown that the capital’s air quality is continuing to deteriorate and is alarming
with emission levels at a few places far exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO)
recommended level.
Fumes Bharat Basnet, a
tourism entrepreneur and environmental activist, "This is nonsense, a cowardly move.
The officials appear to have been bribed by automobile mafia. Really bold decisions have
to be there if we are to improve the air quality."
Adds Dr Toran Sharma,
an environmental expert at the Nepal Environment and Scientific Services (NESS):
"There has to be age bar for vehicles. Older vehicles normally tend to be polluters.
Only Royals can live in the palace; this is our capital city."
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