Centre clarifies status of plea on BS-IV norms

CONFUSION HAS BEEN RAMPANT ABOUT THE ROLLOUT OF BSIV EMISSION STANDARDS

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that the apex court-appointed body, Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), should have approached it for a clarification on its statutory rules related to the deadline for the all-India rollout of BS-IV.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar said since 2005 the government had been issuing notifications for phase-wise implementation of BS-IV, but EPCA never sought an interpretation.

“Our statutory rules have been in place. Notifications were issued from time to time, but nobody asked us for an interpretation,” Kumar said, indirectly supporting the automobile manufacturing companies that have opposed EPCA’s plea to ban sale of BS-III vehicles pursuant to April 1. According to them the rules do not mandate a prohibition on the sale, but on manufacturing.

They have cited past instances when there was a transition from BS-II to BS-III to support their stance.

The SC was hearing the automobile manufacturers’ response to their query about the cost of converting a BS-III vehicle to BS-IV before it hits the markets. The manufacturers told the SC that it was “not possible” to do so.

Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment and a member of EPCA, contended that Kumar, and by association the Centre, were ‘directly’ taking the side of automobile manufacturers.

“The solicitor general and the automobile companies were speaking the same language. Instead of discussing the cost of converting a BS-III vehicle to BS-IV emission norms compliant vehicle, he spent all his time blaming the EPCA. He sided with the automobile companies and implied that they were on the right track,” she said.

Kumar said that a complete implementation of BS-IV technology did not mean the existing BS-III vehicles would be taken off the road. “In fact, BS-III automobiles can ply on BS-IV fuel,” he told the court.

Confusion has been rampant about the rollout of BS-IV emission standards, since EPCA had announced last year in April that it would not allow vehicles that were not BS-IV compliant from April 1, 2017 onwards.

They had also issued reminders in October last year about the deadline and asked automobile manufacturers to exhaust their BS-III stock.

The National Green Tribunal had also heard a plea filed by RK Sharma this Thursday, which sought directions to disallow the sale and registration of all vehicles that were not BS-IV emission standard compliant, even those manufactured this year, from April 1 onwards.