Delhi-NCR Diesel Cars Ban Upheld and Next Hearing on May 9th; Over 50,000 Diesel Cabs Face Axe

Delhi-NCR diesel cars ban upheld despite car manufacturers' claims; next hearing on May 9th but over 50,000 diesel cabs face the restriction

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The ban on registration of diesel vehicles that are 2000 cc and above in capacity continues as the Supreme Court hasn’t got to a conclusion on the petitions against the restriction. The case will be heard against on the 9th of May. However, the biggest shocker came for the taxi owners and drivers as almost 50,000 diesel cabs will be prevented from running on the National Capital Region (NCR) from yesterday onwards.The deadline to switch to CNG for the commercial passenger vehicles were refused to be extended consequently.

The taxi owners and operators previously have pleaded for the leniency on the ban as they were said to be caught in financial tangles and that converting to CNG power will take some amount of time that initially given. With the SC failing to agree, about 35,000 diesel taxis registered in Delhi will be affected which include application based cab operators for Ola and Uber. Ola has over 5,000 diesel vehicles while Uber with 8,000 will be heavily affected. Taxis with all-India tourist permit (AITP) have been exempted to switch to CNG if they function outside of NCR.

The environmental panel set up by the court has been asked to have an undertaking between the Delhi government and the AITP operators that they wouldn’t run their cabs on certain routes. The ban will substantially cut down the existence of cabs in the national capital. The car manufacturers have claimed that their new range of vehicles is Euro VI compliant but the SC bench said some have been proved to be false like the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal.

The court has made it clear last December that the taxis should switch to CNG to ecape from being banned whilst doubling the entry-tax of trucks entering into Delhi. Additionally, the vehicles of life span of ten years and above will be taken off the roads. The affected cab drivers today locked traffic in Delhi’s border areas connecting Gurgaon and Noida and created massive traffic jams despite the ban was extended twice. It’s worth noting that automotive industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said the immediate ban reflects on unstable policy regime of India and it would discourage car makers from investing in the country.

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