To curb the rising pollution in Nation capital, the Supreme Court continued its clamp on diesel vehicles said on Tuesday that the All India Taxi Permit (AITP) taxis can run only if the applicant gives an undertaking that it will only be used for long distance goal.
Advertisement
The Centre also told court there was no justification in imposing the ban on diesel cars in Delhi, as there were several factors causing the pollution.
India’s Supreme Court briefly enforced a ban on diesel taxis operating in New Delhi at the beginning of May, saying taxi owners should have converted to CNG by the end of April.
The court’s first order against diesel-run commercial vehicles first came in December, Bureaucracy Today has learnt.
Following the earlier judgement, taxi unions called for a massive protest on 2 May with hundreds of taxi drivers, including AITP taxi drivers who are exempted from the ban, blocking the roads.
The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, comprised Justices AK Sikri and R Banumathi.
On April 30, the apex court had refused to extend the deadline fixed for diesel taxis including those run by aggregators like OLA and UBER in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) for their conversion into less-polluting CNG mode. “Meanwhile, let the present situation continue till the Centre comes out with new Rules regulating them”, Salve said.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) representing vehicle manufacturers and engine makers in India had pointed out that according to a recent study conducted by IIT Kanpur all types of passenger cars as a whole contributed only 2 percent of the PM 2.5 pollution load in the NCT. “Diesel is not the devil alone”, he said.
Advertisement
“Many companies are viewing this (diesel taxi ban) as a death knell for the BPM industry given practical challenges like long waiting at CNG Stations, limited vehicles, no technology to convert diesel to CNG, insurance and warranty of retrofitted vehicles etc. Companies wish to comply but where are the cabs”, the statement added. “What directions have you issued so far to check pollution?”. The court will consider the issue at the next hearing.
