The Supreme Court’s verdict banned the sale of vehicles meeting Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) emission norms from April 1.
The industry had been asking for an extension of the deadline.
It said that the entire industry was stuck with more than 800,000 vehicles, mostly two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
But the SC rejected the plea stating that the health of the people is more important than the commercial interests of the manufacturers.
Why extension should not be allowed?
Established guidelines - The road map for the upgrade from BS-III to BS-IV was clearly laid out.
For new models, the new norms were supposed to come into effect from April 1, 2016.
For the existing models, the industry was given 12 months to transit to BS-IV norms.
This was done because companies needed to make investments in plant and machinery.
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had been working with the manufacturers since October last year to help manage the transition.
Yet, close to the deadline, the industry was seeking an extension, claiming huge inventory.
Precedence - If allowed, it would have undermined policy credibility and adherence.
Such a transition is neither the first one nor the last.
An extension now would lay down a wrong precedent for the future when India intends to adopt BS-V and BS-VI norms.
Also the transition to BS-IV is not a new development.
13 Metro cities adopted this norm way back in April 2010.
Discriminatory - The extension would penalise those manufacturers that followed the rules.
e.g Bajaj Auto had upgraded its factories to produce BS-IV vehicles. It argued that companies such as itself were being priced out of the market because of the extra cost, and price, of such enhancement.
Manufacturers are unwilling to make investments in safety and environment protection, claiming that India is a highly price-sensitive market and any such upgrade bumps up the price.
But this can hardly be an excuse to compromise on safety and emissions although it reflects poorly on Indian consumers’ priorities as well.
The Supreme Court judgment should make automobile manufacturers wary of asking for an extension when the emission norms are upgraded next.
