Noida to restrict old diesel buses after UPPCB order

A day after Delhi barred the entry of old diesel buses not conforming to BS VI emission norms from neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday, the Noida traffic police said on Thursday that it will restrict the entry of such buses into Noida from Uttar Pradesh after it receives an order from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).

On Wednesday, UPPCB said only BS VI-standard buses will be allowed to operate in NCR in response to the Supreme Court’s demand for an affidavit from states on air pollution control measures.

The restriction on buses is part of a Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) order issued in July that aims to effectively phase out buses running below the BS VI benchmark across Delhi-NCR. This effectively means that only CNG, electric and BS VI buses will be allowed to ply within NCR and Delhi.

There are four entry points in Noida — the Chilla border, the Delhi Noida Direct (DND) border, the Jewar toll plaza, and National Highway (NH) 91, from where most private and public buses enter the city.

The Noida traffic police said it will soon hold a meeting with other departments, including Gautam Budh Nagar RTO, to prepare a plan to comply with UPPCB’s mandate, said Anil Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (Noida traffic).

“As soon as we receive an order from UPPCB, we will deploy police force on the borders of Noida to restrict the entry of those buses that don’t meet the criteria,” DCP Yadav said, adding, “There are three to four entry points in Noida from where diesel buses enter the city. We will deploy personnel on the borders to stop them in collaboration with the RTO.”

Delhi enforced BS-VI diesel norms from November 1 and apprehended 69 diesel buses on Wednesday and stopped them from entering the national capital. Delhi’s transport department and traffic police have deployed 18 teams at Interstate Bus Terminals (ISBTs) and state borders to restrict the entry of banned buses.

Meanwhile, the Noida police have penalised vehicle owners who do not comply with Graded Action Response Plan (Grap) guidelines and operate their end-of-life vehicles — older than 15 years for petrol vehicles and ten years for diesel vehicles. Since January 1, the Noida police have penalised more than 21,000 vehicles for flaunting Grap stage 1 guidelines.

“From January 1 to October 16, 15,978 vehicles, including 190 ten-year-old diesel vehicles, 595 15-year-old petrol vehicles, 7,321 vehicles with expired pollution certificates, and 7872 without fitness certificates, were penalised,” said DCP Yadav.