A government-commissioned panel had earlier suggested implementing BS VI norms from 2024, but in the larger interest it has been made a decision to advance the dates, Mr Gadkari said yesterday.
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“We think a one-time shift to BS VI-norms would be more cost-effective than the incremental step of bringing in BS V first and then moving to BS VI”.
Industry data show that even four years after its introduction in 2010, the penetration of BS IV petrol in the domestic market is just 24 per cent and that for BS IV high-speed diesel is 16 per cent.
Citing a study by IIT Kanpur, Bhargava told PTI: “Cars contribute only 2 per cent to the overall pollution, while 98 per cent is from other sources”.
“The historic decision, made at a meeting under Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, is expected to cut down the particulate matter pollution by 90 per cent and NOx pollution by 75 per cent”, the Minister said. Prices of cars are likely to rise as well.
“They want more time to upgrade to BS-VI emission norms as the move would require some design changes in vehicles, particularly more bonnet space and lead to increase in their capital cost”, said a senior Road, Transport and Highways Ministry official. However, the National Auto Fuel Policy by the Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas estimates that Rs 80,000 crore would be needed for upgrading fuel quality.
In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government on Wednesday made a decision to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 by skipping BS-V altogether. At present, BS-IV norms are being followed in over 30 cities while the rest of the country followed BS-III norms.
Currently, BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in the whole of north India which covers Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, parts of Rajasthan, and western UP.
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From April 1, 2016, all of Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Andaman and Nicobar will get BS-IV fuel.
