The Supreme Court earlier today banned the registration of all diesel vehicles with over 2000 cc capacity in Delhi-NCR till March 31, 2016.
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The court noted that its October 7 order imposing the ECC was meant to restrain non-Delhi bound vehicles from entering the national capital.
The court also doubled an environment tax on commercial diesel-guzzling trucks that enter the city, thousands of which pass through Delhi nightly en route to other parts of the country.
The bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and R Banumathi, however exempted new commercial light-duty diesel vehicles from prohibition on being registered in Delhi “on account of the dependence of the public on such vehicles for supply of essentials”.
The court said its order overrides all the other orders passed by other forums, including the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that had recently banned the registration of all diesel vehicles for up to four weeks in the capital.
Oct 12: SC, on trial basis, imposes ECC, ranging from Rs 700 to Rs 1300, on commercial vehicles entering Delhi.
That triggered a share price fall among automakers which have invested heavily in diesel technology in India.
Delhi bound vehicles loaded with goods can enter Delhi on payment of ECC @ ₹1400 and ₹2600 for light and heavy vehicles resp.
The industry body also pointed out to the historical data shows that the pollution levels in Delhi always rise from September to December and always starts falling from January till August onwards, whether the number of vehicles increases or not. Facing flak over the crisis, the city government earlier this month said private vehicles would only be allowed on the roads on alternate days for a trial period in January.
This year in New Delhi, Indian environment monitoring authorities have found record levels of the tiny, inhalable particles that are measured to indicate pollution levels.
“Lastly, the issue of pollution can not be handled until unless an expert committee is formed which will help in forming an action plan for short, medium and long term with quantifiable targets based upon data to ensure sustained air quality improvements”.
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Accepting the suggestions placed by senior advocate Harish Salve, who is assisting the court in this matter, the bench directed the Delhi government to take “immediate steps for fix of pavements and make pavements wherever the same are missing and also to take immediate steps for procurement of the requisite vacuum cleaning vehicles for use on Delhi roads expeditiously” and fixed the deadline of March 31, 2016. This is yet another instance of the courts leading the way on environmental reform in the country. The Supreme Court order will have a strong impact only on some auto-makers, but will potentially trigger a cascading effect on the dependent ancillary industry, analysts maintain.
