Verdict corner: Cleaning Delhi’s air
Stringent measures imposed by the apex court can lead to the government devising solutions to improve air quality
Alarming air pollution levels in Delhi have once again left the Supreme Court fuming. The Chief Justice of India, HL Dattu, has sought the views of Delhi government and civic agencies on imposing additional levy of “pollution compensatory charges” on commercial vehicles entering the national capital.
Senior lawyer Harish Salve, who is the amicus curiae in a PIL filed by Delhi-based lawyer and environmentalist MC Mehta, wants directives to the Centre, Delhi government and MCD to ensure that commercial vehicles entering the city are required to pay a sum of not less than Rs 600 for LCVs and 2-axle, and not less than Rs 1,200 for 3-axle and above. He suggested this pollution-compensatory charge should be imposed in addition to the toll charge as it will act as a deterrent and an incentive for the early completion of bypass roads around the city.
Seeking enforcement of the “polluter pays” principle, Salve argued that recovering this charge would result in commercial traffic being compelled to disgorge the benefits reaped by them in avoiding toll ways and driving through the city. Even where alternatives do not exist currently, for bypassing traffic, this charge be imposed in lieu of the toll that they would have paid, if they were using a toll road, the fresh application stated.
In fact, three toddlers last week came knocking on the Supreme Court’s door, demanding it to act immediately against Delhi’s spiralling pollution graph. Their petition, filed through their parents, said the pollution hits the youngest the hardest. They want the court’s help to enforce their fundamental right to live as the job of cleaning up Delhi cannot be left to a slow-moving state machinery. Besides, the onslaught of industrialisation, polluting trucks which pass through the city and burning of 500 million tonnes of crop residue in the states around the capital, the months of October and November witness festivals of Dussehra and Diwali when people burst fire crackers, leading to massive health risks. The petition has sought the immediate introduction of Bharat Stage V emission norms, stop dumping of pollutants and setting up of an independent expert body to review the state’s work in curbing environmental degradation.
The top court, which has played the role of the environmental watchdog in Delhi for more than a decade, had earlier recommended a politically-delicate measure: imposing an “environment compensation charge” of 25% on new diesel vehicles and requiring a much smaller fee for existing gasoline- and diesel-powered cars. In February last year it sought MoEF’s response on a plea seeking imposition of a higher tax on owners of diesel-run cars. Salve had then suggested a 30% surcharge on the cost of diesel cars, and a drastic increase in registration fees for personal cars. The senior lawyer had also sought a time-bound action plan for augmentation of public transport services along with the necessary action to remove entry taxes on public buses at state borders.
Over a decade ago, the city introduced a number of policies that raised emission standards, closed polluting industries and expanded green spaces. It converted the city’s buses and auto rickshaws to CNG-powered vehicles and all this improved air quality.
The government first introduced vehicular emission norms in 1991. Based on the apex court’s directions, it tightened these norms in 1996, with most manufacturers made to introduce technology upgrades to reduce exhaust emission. Fuel specifications based on environmental considerations were notified for the first time in April 1996, to be followed by 2000. The Centre had notified BS-II and India 2000 norms, broadly equivalent to Euro 2 and Euro 1, respectively, for the metros and for the rest of India. But this doesn’t seem to be enough now.
A report by WHO has put Delhi as the most polluted city of the world. Thirteen of the 20 most polluted cities of the world are in India, with Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur in the top four spots, it said, noting that “high concentration of small and fine particulate pollution is associated with high numbers of deaths from heart disease and stroke as well as respiratory illnesses and cancer.”
MCD records suggest that roughly 22,628 commercial heavy vehicles (LCVs and above) enter the city daily through the nine main entry/exit points, whereas a study done by a private agency, for the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), finds that over 38,588 commercial heavy vehicles enter the city daily.
The government is mulling further tightening emission norms. It has reiterated its plan to upgrade and advance the timelines for rolling out BS-VI fuel norm across India. However, auto firms have flagged their concerns as moving directly to BS-VI would not offer enough time for design changes to be instituted.
India has been following European emission norms, though with a time lag of five years, with BS-IV norms currently applicable in 33 cities where the required grade of fuel is available, while the rest of the country follows BS-III. Oil companies have said they would be in a position to make BS-VI fuel ready by 2020, but graduating to superior fuel would require at least Rs 2,500 crore and their margins will definitely take a hit.
Says Sunita Narain, the director general of CSE, “the pollution compensation tax should be fixed as a way to equalise the difference between toll roads and travel through Delhi. Every night, thousands of trucks enter Delhi to save on toll. It has become a constitutional imperative to recover these illegal savings … and to use these for dealing with the consequence of pollution.”
Favouring imposing a “pollution tax” that is justifiable under the principle of “polluter pays”, legal luminaries suggest that reducing the number of vehicles on the roads and banning the bursting of crackers during festivals will help. They recommend a hefty tax on diesel vehicles, a steep increase in parking charges and a rapid upgrade of public transport.
Increased awareness on the deadly pollution level and widespread public concern about the health effects coupled with stringent measures imposed by the courts will build pressure and prompt greater calls for accountability and ultimately lead to devising solutions to improve air quality.
https://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/verdict-corner-cleaning-delhis-air/147579/
