Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has pulled up State Transport Department for failing to act against the vehicles with multi-toned and pressure horns by dismantling it, use of which is in violation of noise pollution standard. A fresh deadline of 15 days has been issued to the department to act, failing which legal action would be initiated.
The notice is been issued under section 31 (A) of the Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1981 by Board member secretary Levinson Martins.
The Board has pointed that the transport department was through two different orders on July 6 and September 8 was directed to file a action taken report on the vehicles with multi-tones and pressure horns and also to ban use of such horns in future. However, the department failed to submit any reply in this regard.
Following directions from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had in April asked GSPCB to act and ban use of multi-toned and pressure horns.
As per the latest amendment to the Environment (protection) Rules 1986, SPCB are the authorities for ensuring maintenance of the specified ambient noise standards, thereby banning and restricting any activity emitting noise.
Goa has around 10.83 lakhs vehicles, with approximately 40 percent having multi-toned horns. On the other hand around 1500 buses run on State roads with pressure horns. All this leads to noise and emission resulting to pollution.
Accordingly, Board had directed transport department to ban and prohibit manufacture and usage of pressure horns and multi-tones horns, failing which necessary action would be initiated against the automobile manufactures under the Air act and Environment (protection) Rules.
Also, the automobile manufacturing companies are asked to get to the test done for stationary vehicles within 30 days, the report of which to be submitted to the pollution authority.
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Team Herald
