Half of diesel vehicles inspected by the Department of Motor Traffic’s Emissions Division this year have been found emitting harmful black smoke, the division’s director said.
Director Dasun Janaka Gamage told NewsFirst that around 1,000 vehicles suspected of emitting black smoke have been inspected so far in 2026. Of those, roughly 50 percent failed the test for harmful particulate emissions.
Inspections have been intensified across 12 districts with high vehicle usage, with mobile teams deployed to carry out the checks. Owners of vehicles identified as emitting harmful black smoke are given 14 days to rectify the defect.
Legal action will be taken against owners who fail to correct the problem within the deadline, the Emissions Division said. Such vehicles will also be blacklisted from the national vehicle revenue licence system, under arrangements rolled out earlier this month that link emissions-test failures to the licence renewal process.
The crackdown builds on a WhatsApp tip-line for public reporting of black-smoke vehicles introduced last month and follows persistent complaints in Colombo over diesel buses, trishaws and heavy goods vehicles in poor mechanical condition.
