London, Feb. 4: This is an idea which most polluted cities, including Calcutta, could take up – starting Monday, February 4, much of London will be a “Low Emission Zone” (LEZ) where diesel lorries over 12 tonnes will have to adhere to strict controls on exhaust or face fines of up to £1000 a day.

The scheme will be extended to all lorries, buses and coaches by summer 2008 by Transport for London (TfL) which is determined to improve the deplorable air quality in the capital.

There are no ifs and buts, warns TfL: “The LEZ covers most of Greater London. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also applies on weekends and public holidays.”

This is in marked contrast to the congestion charge, currently levied at £8 a day, which applies between 8am and 6pm on weekdays but not on Saturday, Sunday and Bank holidays. The thousands of cameras used to keep track of congestion zone cheats will also monitor those breaking the new rules on emission.

TfL says: “If you drive an affected vehicle in the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and it does not meet the required emissions standards, is not exempt or entitled to a 100 per cent discount and you do not pay the daily charge, you may be liable for a Penalty Charge. This will be issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle.”

The £1,000 penalty “will be reduced to £500 if paid within 14 calendar days, but increased to £1500 if not paid within 28 calendar days.”

For large vans and minibuses, which will be brought into line by October 2010, the penalty will be £500 a day, which “will be reduced to £250 if paid within 14 calendar days, but increased to £750 if not paid within 28 calendar days.”

There is a further warning: “If a vehicle is found to have three or more outstanding Penalty Charges against it then further enforcement proceedings may be taken and TfL has the power to clamp and/or remove these vehicles.”

Traffic signs and road markings will make it clear when drivers are approaching, entering or leaving the Low Emission Zone: “On main roads, you will see signs to remind you that you are in the zone and that the scheme is enforced by cameras.”

Similar schemes are already in operation across Europe but the London experiment will be the biggest and the most ambitious, as Gordon Brown’s government seeks to establish the United Kingdom as the world leader in the use of clean technology.

“This will be the first in Britain and the largest in the world by a significant margin,” said a spokeswoman for TfL. “London’s air quality is the worst in Britain and among the worst in Europe.”

All foreign-registered lorries will have to register with the database and fines will be issued for non-compliance. Lorries that do not comply and have not been fitted with exhaust scrubbers to bring them up to standard will be charged £200 pounds a day to be in the zone.

All lorries manufactured after Oct 2001 automatically comply with European standards of particulate emissions of 0.05 grammes per kilometre, the level adopted by the scheme.

Motorists will worry that eventually all cars will be brought under the scheme.

There is one big difference between London and Calcutta. In London, general practitioners working for the National Health Service have no financial stake in keeping their patients sick, whereas in Calcutta it could be argued that many doctors and the pharmaceutical industry have an interest in keeping pollution levels high because business and over-prescription would fall if pollution was reduced and citizens were healthier.