Leader of the House and Minister of Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation, Bimal Rathnayake, told Parliament that conducting vehicle emission tests remains essential, despite concerns over malpractice by certain institutions carrying out the process.
Responding to a question raised by MP Lal Premanath, the Minister admitted that some organisations had engaged in fraudulent practices to pass vehicles during testing. However, he assured that by the end of 2026, existing agreements with emission testing companies will expire, and new agreements will be signed under stricter regulations to prevent future irregularities.
Rathnayake highlighted that air quality levels have significantly declined in several cities, including Colombo and Kandy, largely due to vehicle emissions. He stressed that the failure to modernise public transport has worsened the problem, but argued that funding and initiatives for emission testing cannot be considered wrong.
The Minister added that the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) would substantially reduce vehicular emissions and help improve air quality in major cities. He also noted that the Government has already begun conducting random emission tests while continuously monitoring air quality levels.
Addressing another concern, Rathnayake explained that emissions are particularly high at traffic signal lights due to the absence of countdown timers, which cause motorists to accelerate unnecessarily while waiting. He said that timers have now been installed at several traffic lights in Colombo using government funds to help mitigate this problem.
