India’s Supreme Court to consider petition to stop use of diesel cars in Delhi

The Supreme Court will examine the plea submitted by the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) to stop the use of diesel cars in Delhi.
Vijay Panjwani, counsel for the Central Pollution Board, who appeared before the Supreme Court’s Forest Bench of Justices Aftab Alam, K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, mentioned that the petition was filed five years ago. He said that the EPA’s report for the National Capital Region was the basis for the petition. In its report, the EPCA expressed its concern over the increased “dieselization” of the vehicle fleet in the capital, which contributes to increasing particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions in the city. A conservative estimate places the particulate emissions of the total number of diesel cars in Delhi to be equivalent to the emissions from nearly 30,000 diesel buses. The report also pointed out that diesel vehicles in the country were 20 to 30% less fuel efficient than its counterparts in Europe.
The EPCA is also concerned that the growing use of personal diesel vehicles tends to negate the progress made in reducing pollution in the city, when the Supreme Court took the initiative to order the phasing out of diesel buses and converting them to CNG. According to an EPCA report, in the last few years, steps have been taken to combat pollution in Delhi, one of which is the world’s largest ever CNG program. (November 25, 2012)