Hyderabad : The Minister for Environment and Forests A Indrakaran Reddy has done well in directing the officials to file criminal cases against the industries and hospitals which are adding to pollution woes and also take steps for ensure a No-plastic State.
At a review meeting on Tuesday, he said the Chief Minister KCR is working hard to protect environment. The Minister has also directed that old and obsolete vehicles releasing high amounts of carbon into the atmosphere should be junked and added that the officials should take up inspections to identify such vehicles.
These measures, no doubt, are the need of the hour and brooks no delay by any stretch of imagination. As a matter of fact, it is high time the officials and the Government acted on measures to protect the environment. In this context, it is necessary to point out one more important aspect of putting a ceiling on the number of vehicles, new private cars in particular, in cities, not only to protect the environment from air pollution but also to ease the traffic congestion.
It is a matter of irony that the powers-that-be both at the Centre and in the States have failed to take note of the views expressed by experts in this matter. It was in November 2017, that Prof Shivanand Swamy, expert in Public Transport sector and Director of Centre for Excellence in Urban Transport, had emphasized that increase in private cars would cause not only traffic problems but also pollution and health hazards, and hence there was need on the part of the Governments to adopt a suitable strategy. Pointing out that some countries have already taken some steps in this direction, Prof Swamy opined that it is better to limit the private cars and vehicles at the rate of 60 to 70 for every 1,000 population, and at any rate not more than 10 percent of a city’s population. He also said that this thinking might appear to be a radical one, but it is quite essential to curb air pollution. Will the State and Central Governments think on these lines at least now!! (NSS)
