Depending on whether the vehicle runs on petrol or diesel, there are standards sets for carbon dioxide emissions to detect whether a vehicle passes or fails to obtain a green sticker, indicating whether it is a low pollutant enough for the road.[break]
“The problem of smoke due to tremendous increase in the number of vehicles every year became a major concern for all and created serious problems,” wrote Anil Shankar Giri, in a 2001 report titled “Emission Regulations and Environment Policies in Nepal.
"The report also says, “Kathmandu, situated inside a bowl-shaped valley at the altitude of around 5,000 feet above sea level, very quickly exceeded the threshold limits of environmental and health safety.”
Therefore, the Ministry of Population and Environment drafted regulations and standards regarding vehicle emission control for three and four-wheelers.
“To get a green sticker, you need to bring your Blue Book and get a receipt for paying Rs 35. Then you have to go with your car to get it tested. And if it passes, you get the green sticker,” says Shyam Sundar Poudal at the ticket counter of the Department of Transport Management at Ekanta Kuna, Lalitpur, who processes receipts for hundreds of customers a day.
Before being handed the green sticker, diesel and petrol vehicles are tested for their carbon dioxide (CO) emission.
“If a vehicle passes, then it gets a green sticker. If not, then it has to go to a service center to get the problem fixed and then come back to be retested,” says Bishnu Shrestha who has been a staff at the testing point for the past two years.
Sanjeev Bhandari, the manager at the Ekanta Kura testing center, says, “Anywhere from 50 to 150 vehicles come here everyday.” Of those, “Out of 150, maybe around 100 pass inspections,” he adds. But Shrestha’s figures differ, “Maybe a little less than half of those that get tested fail,” he approximates.
For those vehicles that fail, there are no fines, no Blue Books are withheld. In fact, there seems to be no immediate repercussions since the vehicles are free to get back on the road with expired green stickers or as test-failed vehicles.
“If these vehicles are still on the road, then that’s the fault of the traffic police,” Shrestha adds.
Kesang Lama was recently pulled over by the traffic police for having an expired green sticker. According to the regulations, private vehicles are to be inspected annually, and commercial vehicles are to be tested twice a year.
The family driver, Muniel Manandhar, was asked to renew the sticker.
“I paid the Rs 35 and got a receipt, then the car was tested right in front of me, but it failed,” Manandhar said. “I should’ve got a red sticker. But I paid Rs 300 and I was given the green one,” he says.
It appears that for a meager amount paid under the table, green stickers are readily available. “In some ways, it’s a good thing, but not so good in other ways,” Manandhar admits. “It’s a diesel car and there’s less chance of it passing. It should be serviced a month before the sticker expires, but the timing never works,” he adds.
Although those like Shrestha and Bhandari are emphatic about vehicles being taken to the testing center, “Last year, I didn’t take the car with me; so I ended up paying Rs 500 for the green sticker,” Manandhar claims.
Lama, who knew her car would not pass the emission test, says, “My car runs on diesel, so I know it’ll never pass. But it’s easier and less expensive to pay under the table than to get my car fixed. More people buy diesel vehicles because they’re cheaper and people want cheaper.”
The problem is not just an issue of pricing and being more time-efficient.
“It’s a failed policy,” Lama claims. “If I was forced to get my car fixed to reduce emission, I’d be okay with that,” she says and adds that the government, however, offers no alternatives or incentives to go eco-friendly. “The policy is good in theory, but it’s not practical. Due to corruption, people are just buying the green stickers.”
Ram Krishna does not own a car but goes to get the sticker for his uncle. “I think all cars should be passed,” he says.
But if all cars were passed, it would defeat the purpose of the emission regulations.
Even with the regulations theoretically in effect, the dark clouds of smoke escaping from exhaust pipes continue to mock most green stickers on the windshields of all vehicles in the capital.
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