Kathmandu, February 27

The Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE) today said that vehicles which emit smoke that exceeds the emission limits set by the government will be taken off the roads of all metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities starting from April 14.

Speaking at a public programme today, Minister for Population and Environment Lal Babu Pandit informed that a majority of vehicles plying Nepali roads have been found to be breaching the set emission levels and that the government will completely ban such vehicles from the aforementioned date.

Currently, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has been issuing green stickers to the vehicles that undergo fitness checks and are deemed to meet the set standard. “MoPE will take immediate action against the vehicles plying without fitness checks and government-issued green stickers as unfit vehicles are the major pollutants,” said Pandit.

However, it is also to be noted that inspections carried out by MoPE earlier had found that even the vehicles termed ‘fit’ by the DoTM were exceeding the government set emission limits.

Following increasing levels of pollution in the Valley, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has also initiated an inspection of emission levels from major pollutants, including vehicles. The inspection had found that more than 50 per cent of vehicles plying the roads of Kathmandu Valley exceed the emission levels set by the government.

Sadly, the government has not been able to take action against such polluting vehicles so far. As per the Vehicle Emission Standard implemented by the government in 2003, four-wheelers registered in Nepal in 1980 or before can emit carbon monoxide (CO) not exceeding 4.5 per cent of the total emission, while they should not emit more than 1,000 parts-per-million hydrocarbons.

Similarly, four-wheelers registered in the country after 1981 should not emit CO exceeding three per cent of the total emission and should emit less than 1,000 ppm hydrocarbons. Likewise, two-wheelers should not emit CO exceeding 4.5 per cent of the total emission while their hydrocarbon emission should be less than 7,800 ppm.