Lucknow, April 3 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Thursday directed the Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP), transport commissioner and the member- secretary of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to take strict action across the state to check noise pollution caused by modified silencers and illegal hooters. The court said a proper mechanism should be evolved by all stakeholders to curb such noise pollution. It sought an action taken report from the said officers on May 20. A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjeeve Shukla passed the order on April 2 while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea registered suo motu in 2021 on the issue of noise pollution. Earlier, the court had summoned the director general of police and the transport commissioner to appear before it through video-conferencing. The court had directed the officers to explain the steps taken over the last five years to curb the manufacture and sale of modified silencers and pressure horns, and file detailed affidavits before the next hearing. Accordingly, both officers appeared before the court through video conferencing on Thursday and informed the court about the action taken by them in the matter. The court was not satisfied with the officers' reply. The court said it wanted to know the proper mechanism evolved to address the issue of noise pollution and not the data only. On March 16, the bench noted that despite earlier directions to constitute a joint committee of the departments concerned, the state government's counsel could not confirm whether such a panel was formed. On Thursday, the state counsel informed the court that the said joint committee has been constituted. The court said the primary responsibility to check such violations rests with the home and transport departments, and indicated that stricter directions may follow if effective measures are not taken promptly. The court directed to list the matter on May 20 for the next hearing. MANOJ KUMAR SINGH...