Salve tries to “salvage” Delhi air, Supreme Court may ban registration of Diesel SUVs, cars above 2000cc for 3 months

The pathetic air quality in the national capital is prompting drastic measures. After the odd/even rule by the Delhi government, the Supreme Court has now taken the issue of air pollution under its wing. And the restrictions which might be imposed by the Court tomorrow might seem more stringent..Spearheaded by Senior Advocate Harish Salve, environmentalists had a field day today in Supreme Court as a three-judge Bench, after hearing the matter for more than 3 hours, is considering banning of registration of Diesel Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and cars above 2,000cc for 3 months in Delhi..The hearings saw the Senior Advocate vehemently pressing for restrictions on diesel vehicles in the national capital before a Bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices AK Sikri and R Banumathi..The Arguments.When the hearing commenced today, Salve, who is Amicus Curiae in the matter, gave the court a slew of facts and figures concerning air pollution in Delhi. He placed reliance on the report of IIT Kanpur and the data given by the Delhi Pollution Control Board for his arguments..Particulate Matter.He began by explaining to the court about the two types of particulate matter and their varied effects..“There are two kinds of particulate matter – PM 10 and PM 2.5. PM 10 appears more irritating. It causes burning sensation, uneasiness. But the body can fight it more effectively. Tears in eyes, bad throat etc are signs of body pushing it out. But Pm 2.5, it goes straight into lungs and is most dangerous.”.Salve also gave the figures of levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in Delhi stating that PM 2.5 is now six times more than the permissible levels..Salve then went on to explain how the PM levels increase during winter months due to cold air settling down and not allowing the particles to escape..“During summer hot air goes up taking with it the Particulate matter. But the same does not happen during winter and it gets trapped in the lower levels. In cities like Bombay, particulate matter is disperse by air current from the seas. Rain also assists in settling it down. But in a city like Delhi, all these don’t happen; 3% of the days on October this year had “severe pollution”. This increased to 63 % in November”, he said..Diesel – the Villain.Salve, then stressed on the need to restrict diesel vehicles contending that they are a major source of vehicular pollution..“Pollution from one diesel car is equivalent to 7 petrol cars. Diesel vehicles contribute significantly to the PM levels in areas like Dilshad Garden, Okhla and Vasant Kunj.”.He said that 30 percent of the cars in Delhi run on diesel and since Euro VI diesel is not available in India, diesel vehicles have to be restricted..“Europe has moved to Euro VI. In Euro VI, emissions from both Diesel and Petrol don’t have any difference as regards pollution. But we don’t have Euro VI fuel in India and all Diesel cars are not designed to use Euro VI fuel”, he said..Court’s response: “Rich cannot pollute environment using their SUVs”.The Bench took serious note of Salve’s arguments. Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, representing automobile manufacturers said that a blanket ban might not be ideal, but the Court observed that “rich people can’t go round in SUVs polluting the environment”..The Court is now considering imposing the following restrictions:.Ban registration of diesel SUVs for 3 months;Ban registration of cars with engine capacity greater than 2000 cc for 3 months;Ban trucks registered before 2005 from entering Delhi;Increase rate of the Environment Compensation Charge imposed on commercial vehicles entering Delhi two fold – Rs. 700 to be made Rs. 1400 (for light duty vehicles and two axle vehicles) and Rs. 1300 to be raised to Rs. 2600 (for three axle vehicle and above);Taxis to compulsorily shift from Diesel to CNG;Government authorities to stop burning of waste material..The Court will pass a detailed order on the same tomorrow..In October this year, the Supreme Court had directed the Delhi government to impose Environment Compensation Charge on commercial vehicles entering Delhi. This was expected to reduce truck traffic and bring down pollution levels..Image courtesy: .Justice TS Thakur.Harish Salve