The Vehicle Emission Testing Programme has taken steps to establish a special unit named the “Emission Eye Unit” to identify vehicles emitting excessive smoke on the road and initiate legal action against their owners.
Operating under the Department of Motor Traffic, the unit will monitor vehicles in traffic and photograph those emitting excessive visible smoke. The evidence will be used to take enforcement action against the owners.
The initiative aims to strengthen roadside inspections and law enforcement following the integration of the Vehicle Emission Testing Trust Fund with the Department of Motor Traffic.
Officers stationed at strategic locations in major cities will use photographs as evidence to issue orders requiring vehicle maintenance to the respective owners on the same day. Owners who receive such orders must repair their vehicles within the specified period and present them to the vehicle emission testing centre in Werahera.
Vehicles belonging to owners who fail to comply with these instructions will be blacklisted in the Department of Motor Traffic’s database. This could create difficulties when obtaining revenue licences or transferring vehicle ownership.
The programme is being implemented amid growing concerns about the impact of air pollution on public health.
Data presented by the Ministry of Health approximately two months ago indicated that around 7,000 people in Sri Lanka die prematurely each year due to air pollution, with vehicle emissions identified as a major source.
Various measures are being implemented under the vehicle emission testing programme to control vehicle emissions and improve air quality.
