The National Green Tribunal has requested responses from the Union government regarding a plea to implement a star rating system for all passenger vehicles based on fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions.
Agra-based pediatric surgeon Sanjay Kulshrestha, through the nonprofit organization ‘Tsunami on Roads,’ filed the plea. He argues that the government’s current efforts, though sincere, are insufficient in addressing air pollution.
The NGT’s principal bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, heard the matter last Friday, and the order was made public on Wednesday. The bench sought responses from the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Power, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Heavy Industries.
“In this original application, the applicant is seeking implementation of a star rating system for all passenger vehicles based on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. This request is grounded in the assertion that vehicular pollution is the most significant contributor to air pollution. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, vehicular pollution is responsible for 40% of such air pollution,” the order noted.