If you thought pollution testing centres (PTCs) in the city were busy places, you will have to check your facts again. For, a study by WWF in the city clearly shows that very few vehicles come to each of these centres.
The average number of vehicles coming to a centre did not cross 500 in a month and only two centres recorded 700-750. These two centres can be considered as exceptions since one is located beside the highway and has regular customers, which include lorries, two-wheelers and even LPG vehicles, and the second one is next to the RTO and the vehicles which come for fitness test and permits visit this station for the certificate.
When few of the centres had tested only two or three vehicles, the daily tally for 10 out of the 12 centres was about 10-15 vehicles per day. ‘’On the positive side, in all the PTCs, out of the total number of vehicles that came, 80-90 per cent of them complied with the standard limit,’’ said the study conducted by WWF fellow Santhini Achamma Koshy, under the guidance of WWF state director Renjan Mathew Varghese.
One significant finding was that diesel engines, especially of old ambassador cars and other taxi vehicles, almost invariably failed to meet the required criteria, while that of petrol vehicles fared much better.
In the case of buses and lorries, there were persons who said that they tighten the fuel pump just to pass the test. After this, when the vehicles reach the garage, they loosen it. They refuse to adjust the fuel pump because that will reduce pick-up for heavy loads. So, this adversely affects the environment because when the load increases, more pollution occurs.
Three centres out of the 12 surveyed did not have any system in place to monitor whether the vehicles that failed the test came again after servicing and necessary checkups. From this, we can infer that the vehicles which did not receive the certificates either did not bother to get them or went to another centre.
One of the most alarming revelations was that, almost half of the number of pollution testing centres surveyed openly admitted that they were asked for certificates even when the vehicles failed to keep pollution within the limit prescribed.
‘’None of these PTCs reported having private buses coming to them for checking. The question remains as to where they get the certificates from. Two of the centre owners shared the information that certificates were now manipulated through certain agencies,’’ said the study.
Some of the PTCs recorded more vehicles coming on Saturdays as it was weekend and holiday for many.
Most of the PTCs said that above 50 per cent of the vehicles were regular visitors ie, they come once in six months and get the testing done and certificate reissued. This inference was based on familiarity with the vehicle owners.
‘’As you are fully aware, Traffic Police are nowadays bothered only about helmets, seat belts and parking. But the bigger and more important issue of controlling pollution, which otherwise affects global warming and climate change, harms the nature and environment and affects the life and well-being of all living forms, including humans, is left unchecked,’’ said Renjan Mathew Varghese.
The total number of vehicles arriving in a month to these 12 centres adds up to a very negligible number when compared to the number of private vehicles alone registered in the city. Many pollution testing centres have sprung up in different parts of the city to make it more convenient for the vehicle owners, but this has not made a marked difference in the statistics of vehicles arriving there, found the study.
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