Supreme Court Dissolves Committee Formed For Pollution & Traffic Management In Ghaziabad

A bench comprising of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi took note of the submissions of the counsels for the Petitioners and Respondents while disposing of the matter, and on a lighter note stated that, "we cannot be a traffic police and manage the traffic". Senior Advocate Rana Mukherjee representing the Ghaziabad Authorities submitted before the Court that in compliance of the orders of the 24th March 2021 a committee was constituted which has prepared a comprehensive traffic management plan. He also apprised the Court of the fact that the Petitioners have also raised objections which he submitted were very broad.

The counsel for Petitioner Advocate Gaurav Goel submitted that there are more than 1000 buses which are being operated by UPSRTC and are being run on diesel which is causing pollution.

Additional Advocate General of UP Garima Prashad, appearing for the UPSRTC, apprised the Court of the fact that the buses which run on long routes would not be able to get off diesel, but in those cases UPSRTC is shifting to BSVI compliant buses from BSIV compliant buses. She also submitted that the buses which run on short routes are being converted into CNG buses.

Adv. Gaurav Goel also submitted that another issue is of vendors who are encroaching upon the Green Belt for which Senior Advocate Rana Mukherjee apprised the Court that the Ghaziabad Authorities are monitoring the Green Zone and any encroachment thereof.

The Court thus, finding no further reason to keep the matter pending disposed off the matter and dissolved the committee formulated in compliance with the order of 24th March 2021. The Court also kept it open for the petitioners to approach the jurisdictional court or the Green Tribunal, if the petitioners have any further grievance over environmental degradation within and around Ghaziabad Municipal Areas.

The top court had on the 24th March 2021 directed for formulation of a committee comprising of Meerut Divisional Commissioner, Ghaziabad Development Authority Chairperson, Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam Municipal Commissioner, Chairperson of UPSRTC, SSP Ghaziabad, Municipal Commissioner EDMC, a Senior Officer nominated by the Commissioner of Police, Transport Secretary of Government of NCT of Delhi and District Magistrate of Ghaziabad who would also act as the Nodal Officer of the Committee.

The matter for the consideration of the Supreme Court raised the issue that the residents of the area of Kaushambi, Ghaziabad had been suffering as a result of haphazard parking of three wheelers and other vehicles on public roads, including service roads, absence of adequate spaces for the parking of public service vehicles, pollution which is generated by buses plied by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, use of pressure horns by vehicles and total absence of implementation by the law enforcement machinery which causes a serious hardship to pedestrians and residents of the area.