Diesel Vehicles Older Than 10 Years Banned in Kerala

The National Green Tribunal's (NGT) bench in Kochi district today ordered all diesel vehicles older than 10 years in 6 cities in the state be taken off the roads in the next 30 days.

By Kritika Sethi

1 mins read

Published on May 24, 2016

Highlights

Diesel vehicles older than 10 years to be taken off roads in 6 cities
Public transport is currently exempt from the ban
Violators will be fined Rs. 5000

It was the thoroughly worrying levels of pollution in the country that first lead the NGT to ban diesel-run vehicles over 10 years old in Delhi. Further strengthening India's stance against was the Supreme Court's ban on registration of diesel cars with an engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi. It is perhaps the result of the growing consciousness among the countrymen and the consequent debate that has now lead to the introduction of a similar ban in the southern state of Kerala. The National Green Tribunal's (NGT) bench in Kochi district today ordered all diesel vehicles older than 10 years in 6 cities in the state be taken off the roads in the next 30 days. Furthermore, no new permits for vehicles with more than 2000cc engine capacity will be issued. Violators of the ban in Kerala will be fined Rs. 5000. One must note that public transport is exempt from the ban in the state. Much like in Delhi, the ban is being received with much skepticism and concern in Kerala. Tomin Thachankary, the Transport Commissioner for Kerala told NDTV, "We appreciate the health issue and environmental concerns. They are huge but you can't tell people to suddenly take their vehicles off road. Its huge numbers which are involved and people's employment, their loans. This takes time to implement. We will be appealing against this decision." Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) claims the diesel ban in Delhi has cost nearly 5,000 jobs and has lead to a production loss of about 11,000 units since its introduction in December, 2015. Similarly, it is estimated that the NGT's order in Kerala could bring the existing transport system to a screeching halt. The ban will affect nearly 40,000 heavy motor vehicles and 98,000 light motor vehicles.

Last Updated on May 24, 2016

# Pollution in India # diesel ban # diesel ban Kerala # Supreme Court # diesel car ban Delhi # Auto Industry

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