New Delhi:
Only vehicles with BS4 compliant engines and above will be exempted from action if they are found running in Delhi, the Supreme Court said today, modifying its earlier order banning 10-year-old diesel-run vehicles and 15-year-old petrol-run vehicles from December 18 in view of the massive air pollution in Delhi.
A 15-year-old petrol-run vehicle in India and its 10-year-old diesel counterpart are likely have a BS-III (Bharat Stage 3) compliant engine. The BS-IV engines were launched the next year.
Earlier, the Supreme Court, acting on a petition from the Delhi government, had ordered that no strict action would be taken against 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles. That left a grey area both for vehicle owners and the implementing agencies.
The court’s clarification came today following a request from the Central pollution watchdog CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management). Citing the extreme pollution blanket over Delhi-NCR, the Commission had asked that vehicles with older engines (BSIII) contribute massively to pollution and deserve no exemption.
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