Minister of Transport Bimal Rathnayake says that a significant drop in air quality has been reported in several cities, including Colombo and Kandy, and that vehicle emissions have been identified as a key cause.
Addressing the Parliament today, Minister Rathnayake pointed out that the failure to upgrade public transport has also contributed to this situation.
“It is essential to conduct vehicle emission tests. There might be wrongdoings by institutions conducting these tests. But the allocation of funds and the initiative to conduct emission tests cannot be deemed wrong, due to this,” he said.
The Transport Minister outlined that the government was currently conducting sudden emissions tests, and air quality is being monitored.
He further pointed out that it has been observed that vehicle emissions are high at colour lights, due to the lack of a countdown system.
“We have observed vehicles, including motorcycles, accelerating at colour lights while waiting for the colour change. This affects the air quality. We requested funds from the government and installed timers at colour lights in Colombo, to address the issue,” he said.
The Transport Minister acknowledged that due to a lack of proper regulations, the vehicle emissions test permit can be obtained through malpractice in Sri Lanka at present.
Minister Bimal Rathnayake said that the agreement with the company handling emissions tests will end in December 2026, after which steps will be taken to improve the system and address malpractices. (Islandnews)
