Unplanned urbanisation, environmental degradation and lack of interest shown by the government to prevent its traditional sanctity are deteriorating the natural beauty of Dehra Dun. Ever since Uttarakhand came into existence on November 9, 2000, and Dehra Dun became the capital, all sorts of activities in the city have increased manifolds, which mainly have aggravated the pollution problems. The increase in number of vehicles by over 100 per cent during the last decade is an indicator of vehicular pollution. Due to increase in the vehicular traffic, the air pollution has witnessed a steep increase during the past few years. Likewise, the noise pollution too is increasing with every passing day. Although there are no major industries in and around the city, the increasing number of vehicles has brought the air and noise pollution to an alarming situation with an adverse affect on human health and safety. The regional office of the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board is regularly carrying out the monitoring of air quality and noise levels in different areas of the city. The traffic police and RTO officials have so far failed to take any strict action against auto rickshaws, which do not comply with pollution norms. Besides, lack of efforts to promote emission reduction technologies like battery-operated vehicles and electronic catalytic converters could also be termed as reasons behind failure of the authorities in ending the problem of air pollution from auto rickshaws.