Vehicle exhaust emission tests:

Stern action against errant testing centres

Chamikara Weerasinghe

The Environment and Natural Resources Ministry, the Transport Ministry and the Motor Traffic Commissioner’s Department have decided to take stern action against Vehicle Exhaust Emission Testing Centres that issued emission certificates without proper tests being conducted on the vehicles.

”The certificate being mandatory to obtain the annual revenue licenses for motor vehicles, bogus certificates are issued on large-scale by these Centres jeopardising the hopes of the ministries to improve the urban environment and to cut down the prevelance of respiratory diseases in children caused by air pollution,” Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka pointed out out. He was speaking at a press conference held at Sampathpaya yesterday. Motor Traffic Commissioner B. Wijayaratna was also present.

He said new regulations to deal with the situation are being prepared . Steps will be taken to impose fines on those who use substandard equipment to conduct the emission tests or those who conduct them fraudulently.

The regulations can lead to cancellation of the operations of several Testing Centres , he said.

According to Environment Ministry inspections, high levels of air pollution has been observed from Colombo, Galle and Kandy. Investigations have revealed that the major contributors to air pollution in the city were not buses or factories but those duel purpose vehicles such as vans, cabs and jeeps, he said.