: The Delhi government on Wednesday assured representatives of taxi unions and diesel-cab owners that it was ready to put its weight behind the phased removal of their vehicles and would not refrain from amending permit conditions if required.
A day before the government is scheduled to submit a roadmap aimed at the phased removal of diesel cabs from Delhi’s streets, it encouraged their owners and representatives to submit legal representations to the Supreme Court where the matter will be heard on Thursday.
“The government is of the view that no livelihoods should be affected in the process (of carrying out the Supreme Court ban), which is precisely the reason why it has appealed to seek modifications in it from the Apex Court,” said a senior government official.
“Suggestions made by the unions and representatives of diesel cab owners will be submitted along with recommendations of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) as part of the roadmap on Thursday,” the official added.
Licensing regime
In addition to seeking directions regarding the procedure to be followed in executing the ban, the government, according to a source, is expected to submit that it is in favour of considering modifications to the existing licensing regime, which restricts the sale of newly-purchased diesel vehicles within two years.
This, the source said, would be in addition to measures like restricting the registration of new diesel vehicles in Delhi if the Apex Court deemed it necessary as well as coercive action against diesel vehicles not compliant with the latest available Euro norms of classification.
On Tuesday, the Delhi government had sought two days' time from the Supreme Court to submit a roadmap aimed at phasing out diesel-run cabs instead of executing an outright ban on these underlining that as many as 27,000 livelihoods were at stake.
