Supreme Court has banned luxury diesel vehicle and SUV sales in NCR

While ordering a temporary three-month ban (till March 31, 2016) on registration of diesel-run SUVs and cars above 2,000 cc in Delhi-NCR, the court observed that this may just be the beginning.

The study shows that diesel cars contribute at least 60-70 per cent of PM2.5 from vehicles in different parts of Delhi. This has been the cause of the exponential rise in air pollution in Delhi.

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.

It is not clear whether the sale of these vehicles will resume after March.

Chief Justice T.S. Thakur ordered the ban on the registration of new diesel vehicles with engine capacities of over 2 litres, typical of SUVs, jeeps and large cars made by BMW, Toyota and other manufacturers.

The Delhi government submitted to the apex court an action plan on steps being taken to improve air quality.

Last week, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), in an interim order, banned registration of diesel vehicles in Delhi till 6 January, while also suggesting that the Central and Delhi governments must stop buying diesel cars for use in the city.

The automaker said it respects the spirit behind the ruling, but hopes that the Courts would look at empirical data before deciding whether to continue with the diesel vehicle ban in the capital.

India has 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported previous year.

“Why should a rich man travel in a diesel vehicle and pollute the environment, ” the bench had said.

As per the reports, Diesel cars are making air pollution much higher than the petrol cars which is much obvious.

In other measures, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to strictly enforce the ban on burning of municipal waste in the capital.

Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director added: “The current emissions standards in India legally allow diesel cars to emit more particulate matter and nitrogen oxides – which are the most serious pollutants of concern in our city’s air – than petrol cars”.

Successive governments in Delhi have faced scathing criticism for failing to come up with a strategy to tackle the smog.

The Delhi government has announced that it will implement the odd-even formula for cars in the city from 1st January 2016.