Tag: world

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur slammed the car dealers who argued against the National Green Tribunal order banning registration of diesel cars.

Around 23% of cars registered in Delhi are run on diesel

Observing that the rich can’t move around the capital city in SUVs polluting the environment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would ban registration of diesel-run SUVs, cars with engine capacity of more than 2000 cc and commercial vehicles for three to four months and double the green cess levied on trucks entering Delhi.Further indicating that only CNG cabs may be allowed to ply on city roads and the ban on burning of the municipal waste may be enforced strictly, besides introduction of Euro-IV emission norms, the court also agreed to ban the entry of trucks registered before 2005 in the national capital region and increase the green tax for trucks entering the capital.<!– Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur slammed the car dealers who argued against the National Green Tribunal order banning registration of diesel cars.”People’s life is at stake and you are interested in selling cars,” the court said.After hearing the Delhi air pollution issue for about three hours, the bench said the detailed order will be passed on Wednesday.The court had on October 12 ordered that light duty vehicles would have to pay Rs 700 and three-axle vehicles Rs 1,300 to enter Delhi in addition to the toll tax from November 1 as ‘environment compensation charge’ (ECC) in a bid to check high pollution levels in the city.Now, the light duty vehicles may have to pay Rs 1,400 and three-axle vehicles Rs 2,600 as ECC for entering Delhi.”Why don’t you people take credit for cleaning Delhi air? You could enumerate the steps to be taken and why you are asking the court to do it,” the bench said and asked the counsel representing Centre and the Delhi government to come out with comprehensive long and short term plans to tackle the menace of air pollution.The court said that as an interim measure for three-four months, it may ban registration of SUVs, high-end cars having engine capacity of over 2000 cc, besides banning entry of commercial vehicles, registered prior to 2005, in Delhi.The bench was hearing various pleas including the 1984 PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta.Last week, the green tribunal had directed that no new diesel vehicles will be registered in Delhi. The tribunal has also said that central and state government must stop buying diesel cars in Delhi.On the issue of the Delhi government’s plan to allow cars with odd and even registration numbers on alternate days from January 1 to check pollution, the court said, “We are not sure if it would help. You can implement it if it is going to help. We haven’t stopped you.”Around 23 per cent of the cars registered in Delhi are diesel. Diesel cars can legally emit 7.5 times more particulate matter than the petrol versions and produce more toxic nitrogen dioxide. Diesel emissions are also cancer causing, says the World Health Organisation.