Majlis to Review Air Pollution Bill

Lawmakers will finally deliberate and vote on the Clean Air Bill on Oct. 18, after letting it gather dust for nearly two years. Ali Motahhari, vice speaker of the parliament, said the bill was scheduled to be reviewed on Wednesday, but because "reviewing reports submitted by the Guardians Council takes precedence over everything else, we didn't get around to voting on the bill", ISNA reported. In late August, the 35-article Clean Air Bill was passed by the Majlis Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Commission, paving the way for it to be reviewed and passed by the parliament before being signed into law by President Hassan Rouhani. The bill singles out inefficient vehicles, substandard fuels, industrial activities and dust storms as the major sources of air pollution in the country.  Drawn up by the Department of Environment, the bill proposes more frequent technical inspections of private vehicles. While the current law stipulates technical inspection of all vehicles once every five years, the DOE is pushing for biennial checks. The department insists that government vehicles be subjected to annual inspections.