NEW DELHI: No Bharat Stage-IV vehicle would be sold or registered in India from April 1, 2020, the Supreme Court has ruled, saying any extension of time in introducing the new emission norms would adversely impact the health of citizens as the pollution has reached an “alarming and critical” level.
Bharat stage (BS) emission norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The BS IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.
In 2016, the Centre had announced the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.
The apex court said there cannot be any compromise on the health of citizens and this has to take precedence over the “greed” of few automobile manufacturers who unfortunately, want to stretch the timeline to make a “little more money”.
Noting that India has the “dubious distinction” of having 15 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said the effect of pollution on the environment and health was so huge that it cannot be compensated in the marginal extra profits that manufacturers might make.
“Therefore, if there is a conflict between health and wealth, obviously, health will have to be given precedence,” said the bench, which also comprised Justices S A Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.
“We are dealing here with a situation where children and unborn children suffer from pollution and issues of inter-generational equity are involved,” the bench said and noted there was more than sufficient time for manufacturers to make BS-VI compliant vehicles.
“They (manufacturers) already have the technology to do so. The automobile industry must show the will, responsibility and urgency in this regard,” the court said in its order while deciding if BS-IV compliant vehicles should be permitted to be sold in India after March 31, 2020. PTI
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