Banned autorickshaws plying in Kolkata suburbs despite ban

The polluting two-stroke autorickshaws banned from the streets of the metropolis by the Calcutta High Court, have quietly begun running in the suburbs after being repainted green and yellow to resemble LPG-run three-wheelers.

West Bengal transport minister Ranjit Kundu has admitted that illegal autorickshaws were running in the suburbs when asked about compliance of the High Court order.

On being told that several old autorickshaws repainted green and yellow to resemble LPG four-stroke ones were also running within the city, the minister said, "Such three-wheelers are running in the suburbs, but not here."

The ban by the high court on two-stroke and 15-year-old commercial vehicles from the Kolkata Metropolitan area, comprising Kolkata and parts of adjoining South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly districts, came into effect from August 1 this year.

After the ban, the two-stroke auto-rickshaws went off the roads, but have reappeared again.

"We are trying to enforce the order, but there is a humane side to it too," Kundu said.

Stating that the supply of three-wheelers by manufacturers was not adequate, he said that autorickshaw operators were poor people who also had families to maintain.

Incidentally, on the question of livelihood, former chief justice of Calcutta High Court SS Nijjar, who had passed the ban order, had observed that millions of citizens, who also had a right to live, were suffering due to severe pollution.

Pollution by two-stroke autorickshaws is deadly, as most run on a toxic mixture of petrol, kerosene and benzene, with the adulterated fuel known locally as 'katatel'.

An autorickshaw driver in south Kolkata nonchalantly said, "Yes, I am driving an old vehicle. I have painted it green and yellow to escape notice of the police."

Environment activist Subhas Dutta, asked about flouting of the order, said, "This is possible only because there is no monitoring as was done in Delhi when diesel operated commercial vehicles were banned."

Strict monitoring and stiff penalty would ensure compliance of the order which would result in reduction of pollution in the metropolis, he said.

While the public vehicles department and the Kolkata police's traffic department seized some vehicles, there has been no crackdown on illegal vehicles in the districts.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Dilip Banerjee said that regular drives were taking place in the Kolkata police area and some two-stroke autorickshaws have been seized.

"The effect of the drives can be seen in the increasing number of applications for replacement of old three-wheelers with new LPG vehicles," he said.