India’s highest judicial forum and final court, the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday proposed to introduce the BSVI (Bharat Stage VI) fuel in 13 metros across the country by April 1, 2019. The top judiciary body has asked the central government to discuss the matter with the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and get their feedback on the same.
Just so you know, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had decided to roll out the BSVI grade fuel in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi from April, 2018 against the earlier deadline of April 2020. This move has been taken to control air pollution in the capital. Read – Non-ISI Helmets To Be Banned In India
While the Oil companies are ready to supply the BSVI grade fuel two years before the deadline, the car and two-wheeler manufacturers haven’t yet prepared to switch their model lineup from BSIV to BSVI. In fact, the Delhi public transport division will take a little long to get compatible for cleaner fuel.
Following the instructions of the apex court, the sales and registration of BSIII grade vehicles had been banned in the country from April 1, 2017. With the ban, the Indian two-wheeler industry witnessed a huge loss as most of the companies didn’t get enough time to upgrade technology and sell out their BSIII stock.
The Court had said that “the health of the people is far, far more important than the commercial interest of the manufacturers or the loss that they are likely to suffer”. The enforcement of the BSVI emission norms, even for the deadline in select cities, will surely be also be very challenging for the government, oil companies and of-course the automobile manufacturers. Read – Government Bans Car And SUV Crash Guards in India
