Delhi Pollution Update: SC extends diesel car ban

In a further blow to luxury car manufacturers in India, the Supreme Court on Thursday extended the ban on the registration of diesel cars with engine capacity greater than 2000cc, in the NCR, until ‘further orders’. It also hinted at a special environmental cess on high-end cars while a time frame for all diesel taxis to convert to CNG has also been set.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices R. Banumathi and AK Sikri, was unsparingly critical of the rich and affluent, opposing any additional cess on diesel sedans and SUVs. It said those who buy diesel cars “knowing they pollute more should be ready to pay compensatory charges.” 

The court said pollution was a serious matter and there was enough material to indicate that diesel vehicles were contributing to the problem. According to the apex court, the ones who own cars worth above Rs 25 lakh should also not mind paying an extra cess of around Rs 5 lakh for the cause of the environment. Additionally, a time-frame has also been given to diesel taxi owners to convert their cars to CNG by April 30.

This directive from the SC comes at the end of the tenure of the order that it had passed in December, banning the registration of all vehicles with cubic capacity in excess of 2.0-litre till March 31. In the aftermath, a group of carmakers including Mercedes-Benz, Mahindra and Toyota had submitted a plea in front of the apex court. On the basis of an independent study, they had highlighted how there are more two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the country and emissions from these vehicles were creating more pollution. 

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However, the court refused to give in and retained the ban, which was a part of the strategy to counter the increasing menace of pollution in the NCR; the odd-even rule and monthly car-free days being cogs of the same machinery. 

The consequences of the extension of the diesel car ban are set to be widespread, with various companies earning a share of as large as 15 per cent of their total sales from the NCR. As Mahindra has come up with 1.99-litre engines to counter the ban, other carmakers will be taking cues to devise respective damage control strategies.