Haryana bans old diesel and petrol vehicles in NCR
Banning vehicles, mostly diesel variants, seems to be a trend in India. After Delhi, Kerala and Chhattisgarh, the Haryana government has now banned 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles from plying on roads in NCR.
State transport minister Krishan Lal Panwar said on Thursday that the ban would apply to the vehicles registered in cities falling under the territorial jurisdiction of National Capital Region (NCR), such as Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar.
"I have issued the order and directed the authorities concerned for effective implementation of it, banning 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in these four cities," said the minister. "The state government wants to curb air pollution in such a way that it does not affect the national capital."
The diesel ban was first put into play in the Delhi, wherein diesel cars with an engine displacement of over 2,000cc were banned from being registered. Delhi justifies it as it currently stands as the 11th most polluted city in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports. Then Kerala followed suit and imposed a similar diesel ban, though it has been temporarily stayed by the Kerala HC.
Industry stalwarts like Vikram Kirloskar, vice chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and BVR Subbu, former CEO, Hyundai India, believe that banning old diesel cars will not be in the best interest of the customers. However, Arun Jaitley thinks the diesel ban is in a transient phase and the Indian car market is large enough not to adversely affect the auto companies.
