Air pollution: Supreme Court mulls extending color-coded stickers for vehicles beyond NCR

These stickers, which facilitates in identifying vehicles based on the fuel used, were also supposed to include the date of registration of the vehicle.

The Supreme Court has underscored the importance of implementing hologram-based colour-coded stickers for vehicles to combat air pollution, signaling its intent to make the scheme mandatory across states and Union Territories beyond the National Capital Region (NCR), reported PTI.

The initiative, introduced in 2018, was proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and approved by the apex court. It involves light blue stickers for vehicles using petrol and CNG and orange stickers for diesel vehicles in the NCR. These stickers also include the date of registration, aiding authorities in identifying vehicles based on fuel type.

Following the court’s directive, Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, was amended, along with the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) order of 2001, to incorporate the hologram-based sticker scheme.

During a hearing on Friday, a bench comprising Justices AS Oka and AG Masih emphasized strict enforcement of the scheme, particularly during the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb air pollution. The court stated that it might extend the 2018 directive nationwide under its plenary powers granted by Article 142 of the Constitution.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on January 15, with the bench directing the Centre and concerned parties to present arguments on extending the scheme beyond NCR.

In November 2023, the court expressed concern over the lack of compliance with its December 13, 2023, directive, which mandated the use of colour-coded stickers. It noted that of the approximately 27 lakh vehicles in Delhi, only 17-18 lakh had these stickers.

Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, serving as amicus curiae, highlighted that over 50% of vehicles in Delhi-NCR still lacked the stickers, which were crucial for identifying vehicles using subpar fuel on high-pollution days.

The top court had suggested MoRTH consider green number plates or stickers for electric and hybrid vehicles to further promote clean energy.

The NCR states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have been directed to comply with the court's orders, with the Centre confirming that it had issued notifications to all states regarding the scheme.

This development is part of the court’s broader efforts to address air quality concerns in Delhi-NCR, with the colour-coded sticker scheme being a key measure to curb vehicular emissions.