A recent inspection has found that more than 50 pe cent of vehicles plying the roads of Kathmandu Valley exceed the emission levels set by the government media reports.

According to news report by The Himalayan Times, following increasing levels of pollution in the valley, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers recently initiated inspection of emission levels from major pollutants, including vehicles (primarily four-wheelers) and brick kilns.

“Along with brick kilns, our preliminary findings show that more than 300 vehicles, out of around 600 tested in the valley, were emitting pollutants above the set emission standards of the government,” said Mahendra Man Gurung, secretary at OPMC.

According to an estimate, there are more than 1.5 million vehicles in Kathmandu and over two-thirds are two-wheeler.

 Officials at the Department of Environment blamed lack of timely maintenance of vehicles as the prime reason for emission levels exceeding the permissible levels. They stressed on the need for the Department of Transport Management to strictly enforce the provision requiring vehicles to undergo fitness tests before being allowed to ply the roads.

Vehicles are major emitters of harmful pollution components, such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. As per the Vehicle Emission Standard implemented by the government in 2003, four-wheelers registered in Nepal in 1980 or before can emit CO not exceeding 4.5 percent of the total emission, while they should not emit more than 1,000 parts-per-million hydrocarbons.

Four-wheelers registered in the country after 1981 should not emit CO exceeding three percent of the total emission and should emit less than 1,000 ppm hydrocarbons.