In a move to curb the alarming rise in the pollution the national capital, the supreme court has banned registration Diesel SUVs and cars above 2000cc in the national capital till March 31, saying the decision will not affect the common man.
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The court also ordered all taxis in Delhi to convert to Compressed Natural Gas by March next year.
The court also barred thousands of diesel trucks, which only enter the city every night en route to other parts of the country, in order to bypass toll roads around Delhi.
Any commercial vehicle not bound for Delhi will no longer be allowed to enter the city through entry points at National Highway 1 and 8.
This rule will apply also to trucks bringing goods bound for Delhi that were permitted entry on payment of ECC of Rs 700 for light commercial vehicles and Rs 1,300 for trucks and heavy goods carriers.
While the central and the AAP government are locked in a vicious battle over the raid of the Delhi secretariat today, the Supreme Court asked them to work together to combat the pollution in the national capital.
It clarified that the order banning registration of diesel-run vehicles, which will be operational from January 1, 2016 to March 31, will not include passenger cars whose engine capacity is below 2000 cc.
As an interim measure, the Tribunal had ordered that diesel-run vehicles will not be registered in Delhi and there will be no renewal of registration of such vehicles which are more than 10-year-old.
“The Company respects the order of the Honourable Supreme Court and does hope that these actions help to clean Delhi air”. A lot of these cars are over 2000 CC and diesel make.
The judges said it is now clear that they will consider the option of an environment compensation charge on all diesel vehicles when the court meets again in January. In fact, the World Health Organisation said that diesel emissions can cause cancer.
Diesel vehicles spewing black clouds of exhaust, construction dust and the burning of crop stubble in farms in neighbouring states all contribute to extreme air pollution in New Delhi. “You might enumerate the steps to be taken and why you’re asking the courtroom to do it”, it stated.
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Successive Delhi governments have faced scathing criticism for failing to come up with a strategy to tackle the smog.
