The National Green Tribunal Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions for formulation of a registration policy of private vehicles in accordance with the norm of “one family, one car” in Delhi-NCR. Terming the petition as “premature”, a bench headed by acting Chairperson justice U D Salvi disposed of the plea and allowed the petitioner to approach the authority concerned.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by advocate Sajan K Singh alleging that there was a threat to human lives due to environmental degradation caused by carbon emissions from numerous private and commercial vehicles. “The period between 1981 and 2001 saw a phenomenal increase in the growth of vehicle and traffic in Delhi. There has been a rise in per capita trip rate (excluding walk trips) from 0.72 in 1981 to 0.87 in 2001.”

“Keeping in view the population growth, this translates into an increase from 45 lakh trips to around 118 lakh trips. The population of motor vehicles has increased from 5.13 lakh in 1981 to 32.38 lakh in 2001, and the number of buses has increased from 8,600 to 41,483 during this period,” the plea said.

The plea sought directions for formulation of a holistic policy for registration of private vehicles in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) so that only one car is permitted to be registered in one residential unit.

Singh contended in his plea that Delhi has become a gas chamber due to alarming rise in pollution level, and the environmental deterioration has taken place due to negligence of the authorities.

“A large number of private and commercial vehicles play a major role in the alarming rise of pollution in the city. They contribute significantly to the ambient air quality and thus unrestricted acquisition of both private and commercial vehicles must be regulated,” he said.