“We accordingly direct that (truck) traffic from these two entry points shall be diverted to bypass Delhi through such alternative routes as the transport/traffic departments of the governments concerned may stipulate”, the bench said.
Advertisement
This very court had on October 12 ordered the light duty vehicles to pay Rs 700 and three-axle vehicles Rs 1,300 for entering Delhi in addition to the toll tax from November 1 as ECC.
As a part of countering the alarmingly high pollution levels in Delhi, the top court also ruled that all trucks not bound for Delhi will not be allowed to enter the capital through National Highways 1 and 8.
The next category of diesel vehicles to be eased out of Delhi by the apex court is taxi and cab services such as Ola and Uber.
The ban will apply on new vehicles that have 2.0-liters engines or bigger, and will be in force until March 31, 2016. “The Company respects the order of the Honourable Supreme Court and does hope that these actions help to clean Delhi air”.
Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur also ordered New Delhi authorities to strictly impose restrictions on the burning of waste. This means high-end luxury sedans and SUVs running on diesel would not be registered in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida and other smaller cities falling within the NCR till March 31.
Hit hard by the Supreme Court ban on registration of vehicles above 2,000 cc, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz today said it will impact its future investments in India and will lead to job losses.
But around 90 percent of the SUVS and other utility vehicles sold previous year are fuelled by diesel, which is substantially cheaper than petrol. “Why do you let the opportunity go?” it said.
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.
Advertisement
However, the lawyer and the environmental campaigners who brought the case to the Indian Supreme Court will not stop here as they want the order to be extended beyond the capital to other cities affected by toxic smog. No trucks which are older, and therefore, more polluting, will enter Delhi. These account for the maximum number of vehicles entering Delhi.
