Compulsory emission tests from April for vehicles

Though the Supreme Court on Friday gave a fillip to fast tracking the solving of the air pollution problem in the City believed to be caused mainly by vehicle emissions, measures are already in place to keep belching vehicles off the roads from April next year.

According to the Environment Ministry’s Environmental Economics and Global Affairs Director Anura Jayatillaka, 200 independent Vehicle Emission Testing Centres are now expected to go into operation next year under an agreement signed in 2005 by then Transport Minister A.H.M. Fowzie and the Motor Traffic Commissioner with two private companies Laugfs Gas and the Industrial Services Bureau, Kurunegala. Both these companies are setting up the centres with foreign collaboration.He said no vehicle will be able to renew its annual revenue licence after April without passing an emission test conducted by one of these centres. The centres will earn their upkeep by charging fees ranging from Rs. 225 for a motor cycle to Rs. 650 for a dual purpose vehicle. If a vehicle fails a test it will be given a chance to get the problem corrected at a garage and a second test thereafter will be free of charge.

Though the authorities have been promising to take action against polluting vehicles from the 1980s when the Transport Minister was M.H. Mohamed, the implementing of the promise has always been put off time and again for political expediency. But with the Supreme Court, as in India, taking a pro-active role on these issues, people are now finally assured of some action.

With some 55 per cent of the country’s vehicles being found in the Western Province, the bulk of the testing centres are expected to be sited there.Asked how it was proposed to keep this system from failing due to graft, Mr. Jayatillake said these computerized centres would be linked to data banks of the CEA, the Motor Traffic Department and the Divisional Secretariats which renew revenue licences annually. In addition the CEA and the Motor Traffic Department too will have their own independent computerized vehicle emission testing labs to cross check any doubtful cases. Police are also empowered to carry out random checks in case they come across any belching vehicles.

Though most people are concerned about air pollution in Colombo, according to the Ministry’s Environment Management officer Ruwan Weerasekera, the problem in Kandy is far worse as Kandy is situated in a valley surrounded by hills and no one knows the exact situation there without any proper testing facilities.

The country’s sole Ambient Air Quality Testing Centre is situated in front of the Colombo Fort railway station. Though Colombo’s vehicle population is high, due to it being close to the sea its pollutants are flushed out periodically by winds. An attempt made by a team from the Peradeniya University chemistry department to monitor air quality in Kandy town, using low cost methods, has found that 66 per cent of the time the air quality was not good for human health.

Among the values of four pollutants analysed in Kandy, particulate matter is the dominant pollutant, while sulphur dioxide is the second pollutant that exceeds stipulated air quality standards, the survey revealed.

Preliminary surveys already carried out prior to the implementation of the new regulations next year have revealed that between 10 to 20 per cent of the vehicles on Lankan roads are expected to fail the emission tests and contrary to the general belief that buses and lorries were the worst polluters, these preliminary tests have revealed that double cabs and school vans were the biggest violators.

Mr. Weerasekera said there would also be many teething problems once the tests become compulsory as many of the estimated 21,000 garages in the country lack proper scan equipment and competent mechanics. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that qualified mechanics passing out of schools like the German Tech are snapped up by countries like Australia.