The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Emission testing falls, so does number of centres

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Emission testing falls, so does number of centres

Zubeda Hamid

Vehicular emission is big contributor to urban pollution

“We do not have enough manpower or resources to conduct regular checks”

— Photo: K. Pichumani

Dwindling patronage: The number of vehicular emission testing centres in the city has declined.

CHENNAI: When emission testing of automobiles to control pollution levels was introduced in 1997, the city boasted of around 130 emission test centres. Ten years down the line, their number has dropped by nearly half to 66 as per the State Transport Authority website. The number of vehicles getting their emission levels tested has also drastically fallen, despite emission testing being mandatory for all vehicles every six months.

“The emission testing centres are not profitable any more because very few vehicles come in. So, many of them [centres] are closing down. In 1998, more than four lakh vehicles came in for emission testing. This came down to 1.25 lakh in 2006,” said V. Sampath, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Vehicle Emission Check Centre Association.

The testing is to check the levels of carbon mono oxide and hydrocarbons emissions from the tailpipe of the vehicle. Every vehicle, depending on the year of its make and the type of fuel it runs on, has certain permissible limits of CO and HC it has to adhere to. The State Transport Authority has also made it mandatory for all vehicles to produce valid pollution-under-control certificates at the time of any transaction at the Regional Transport Offices (RTO).

“Many drivers get their vehicles tested just before going to the RTO. So only the test centres near the offices are able to function well,” said M. Murgaiah, owner of an emission test centre in Alwarpet.

Goods carriers such as lorries are checked for emissions by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which operates three centres in the city.

Transport Commissioner C.P. Singh said vehicles without the pollution-under-control certificates were fined Rs.500. “But we do not have enough manpower or resources to conduct regular checks for the certificates,” he added. Following complaints that some testing centres issued certificates without conducting the test, the department issued notices to 23 centres. From April 2007, around 12,000 vehicles had been fined for not in possession of pollution-under- control certificate, he said.

According to V.N. Rayudu, Deputy Director, TNPCB, vehicular emission is the biggest contributor to urban pollution levels. Getting vehicles tested and adjusted to the permissible level of emissions would go a long way in controlling pollution in the city, he said.

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