A temporary ban has been ordered on the sale of diesel cars in India’s capital by the Supreme Court.
The decision comes in an attempt to combat toxic smog in the city and it affects diesel vehicles with an engine capacity of 2,000cc or more. It has immediate effect and will be in effect until March 31, 2016 in Delhi and the surrounding region.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes after India’s National Green Tribunal ordered a ban, last week, on the registration of all diesel cars for nearly a month, to help clean up the air in Delhi, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
The order will not have a negative effect to the “common man” in India, the court said. Other rulings include a ban of all trucks over 10 years old to pass through the capital and a demand for all Delhi taxis, including Uber and local Ola, to convert their cars for running on compressed natural gas.
However, the lawyer and the environmental campaigners who brought the case to the Indian Supreme Court will not stop here as they want the order to be extended beyond the capital to other cities affected by toxic smog.
On the other hand Mercedes-Benz, a major player on the Indian market whose Delhi region accounts for almost 25 percent of total local sales, told Reuters that the ban and uncertainty on the issue will affect future investment in the Asian country.
“We also have to consider the loss of jobs that this will result at the dealerships, at the vendors producing diesel engines“, said a spokesman from the company in an e-mail.
According to TimesOfIndia, over 23 percent of the cars on the streets of Delhi run on diesel. The city has 8.5 million vehicles on its roads, up 97 percent from 2,000, and 1,400 new cars are added to the streets every day.
New Delhi’s Supreme Court decision joins the first ever “Red Alert” issued in Beijing, where cars can only be driven on alternating days, after the air pollution levels were said to be 40 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.