Delhi-NCR diesel vehicle ban above 2,000cc set to continue as Supreme Court sees productivity in the restriction for the last three months
The Indian capital city of New Delhi came under barrage of criticisms when WHO (World Health Organisation) declared that it had become the worst polluted city in the world out of testing 1,600 cities for PM2.5 particles by overtaking Beijing. This prompted the apex court to take imminent action and with the intervention of the NGT (National Green Tribunal), a new ban was announced last December.
The diesel cars with engine capacity of over 2,000cc were banned from registering in the Delhi-NCR region from January 1st to March 31st as the initial measure and an odd-even scheme was introduced which restricted the running of the vehicles based on their registration nameplates. This sparked fury among auto makers as they argued that the diesel cars ban wouldn’t improve the situation in depleting air quality.
The order came into effect to curb down the soaring pollution scale but industry experts believed that despite the ban, the sales of the petrol cars will in turn increase the pollution level as they emit more CO2 than the oil burners. About 55 cars were thwarted from selling in the Delhi-NCR region with the livelihood of the diesel cab drivers came under threat.
Mahindra and Mahindra was the most affected Indian manufacturer as it primarily sells SUVs with engine capacity above 2,000 cc as the top-selling Scorpio and XUV500 were hindered from the sales. The country’s best-selling premium brand Mercedes-Benz was left stern-faced as almost all of its diesel models were affected.
The diesel cars came under the confinement as they emit harmful NOx pollutants than the petrol powered vehicles which largely affect the well-being of the society. As the duration of the three months ended today, the whole country awaited on the decision over whether to upheld the ban or totally abandon it. The bench consisted of three judges led by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur ordered that the court wouldn’t lift the ban as of for now.
But the favourable solution will be reached only if the auto manufacturers consent to a one-time environmental compensation on the vehicle registration, they said. This could imply around 20 to 30 percent of the total cost of the vehicles. The ban on the registration of diesel vehicles above 2,000cc will continue until any further orders made by the SC.
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