Will Follow Supreme Court Order On Air-Pollution: National Green Tribunal

Senior advocate Pinaki Misra, appearing for Delhi based auto dealers, had said the tribunal has passed a “harsh” direction by ordering that there would be no registration of new diesel vehicles and would have “cascading” effect.

Environmental campaigners and the lawyer who brought the case to the Supreme Court, however, say they want to see the order extended beyond the capital to other smog-choked cities.

A 100 percent increase in the surcharge would imply that light commercial vehicles with two axles will be required to pay Rs. 1,400 to enter Delhi and commercial vehicles with three and four axles will have to pay Rs. 2,600 for each trip for entering Delhi.

SC favours levy of ECC on commercial vehicles criss-crossing Delhi.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered sales of all diesel vehicles with an engine capacity of more than 2,000cc to be halted for the next three months in New Delhi and nearby suburbs.

“In the circumstances, we consider it necessary to make it clear that no vehicle which is not bound for Delhi will be allowed to enter from NH 8 which connects Jaipur to Delhi and NH 1 that connects the States of Punjab, Haryana and other northern States to Delhi via Kundli border”, the bench noted.

In a major step towards curbing growing air pollution in Delhi, the apex court announced several measures, including an order that all taxis in Delhi must be converted to CNG and that the pollution surcharge shall be doubled.

The Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday will hurt sales of companies manufacturing luxury vehicles and SUVs the most, but for those making smaller diesel vehicles, it offers a reprieve.

As pollution levels in Delhi have reached alarming levels in the past few weeks, the Delhi high court said the city resembled a “gas chamber”. The Delhi government has implemented the even-odd-scheme for private cars from January 1 onwards.

“Why don’t you people take credit of cleaning Delhi air?”

New Delhi has one of the world’s worst air pollution levels, but other cities such as Patna and Kolkata in India’s east and Mumbai in the west also frequently register hazardous levels.