To curb malpractices, Delhi govt restricts sale of CNG stickers to one location

New Delhi: Around 1,600 motorists were on Tuesday penalised for violating odd-even norms even as the Delhi government claimed the cut in vehicular emission due to the scheme has resulted in “definitive decline” in levels of pollutants in the air across the city. Cracking down on illegal sale of CNG stickers, necessary for getting CNG vehicles exempted from the restrictions, government has decided to limit its sale to only one station of Indraprastha Gas Ltd as against 114 places across Delhi and NCR. Transport Minister Gopal Rai said the decision to limit number of CNG station selling stickers to one was taken after reports of unscrupulous elements selling stickers to owners of non-CNG vehicles. [caption id=“attachment_2571716” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] He said one Dipak Sen from Vivek Vihar CNG station was “caught” selling CNG stickers to non-CNG vehicles and he had “admitted” to the crime. He was selling the sticker for Rs 2,800. The Indraprastha Gas Ltd has registered a case against him at Vivek Vihar police station, Rai said. So far, CNG stickers were available at 95 CNG stations in Delhi and another 19 stations in NCR. One LPG car owner was also caught today for driving around pasting a CNG sticker. Rai said data of pollutants collected from over 55 locations showed a clear trend of improving air quality in city and that there has been a “positive impact” of the odd-even scheme. A total of around Rs 60 lakh were collected from violators. For each violation, a motorist is fined Rs 2,000. The Metro said its ridership till 8 PM rose by nearly 2 lakh to 21,26,515 lakh as compared to Tuesday last. However, Tuesday’s figure was less than that of the previous day when it stood at 28,19,657. On the fifth day of the scheme, when odd-numbered cars were allowed, volume of traffic swelled during evening hours as morning was considerably congestion free. Though odd-numbered cars dominated the roads, even-numbered cars were seen plying in various areas. PTI