Even as some MP’s recently chose their own unique ways to travel to the parliament, the Supreme Court of India recently extended the ban on the registration of new diesel vehicles with displacement of over 2000cc. The ban was first imposed till March 31st after which it was extended on two occasions, April 30th and May 9th.
The apex court has relieved the taxi operators from the ban. The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on diesel engine powered taxi’s and the cabs with All India Tourist permit can continue to ply Delhi/NCR till their permit expires. “These diesel taxis will have to comply with regulations of safety, security and fare,” the Supreme Court ruled.
The Supreme Court has stated that the order will be in place until further notice. It also expressed that the court is ready to make changes to the ban on the condition that a further environmental cess was added. The environmental cess addition would be applicable to the diesel vehicles with a displacement of 2000 cc and above.
The court added that it might, in the future, even consider charging an additional one time cess on lower displacement diesel powered vehicles too. The decision on the ban affects a majority of products from manufacturers such as Toyota and Mahindra as well as international players like Mercedes, Audi and BMW.