Govt. to implement BS-VI norms by 2020

Petroleum Ministry will spend Rs.30,000 crore for upgrading refineries to implement the clean fuel technology

January 06, 2016 03:01 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 02:19 am IST - New Delhi

The government, in a move to fight pollution, will implement Bharat Standard (BS)-VI emission norms by April 1, 2020.

“Pollution is a major concern in our country. The Supreme Court has also stated its stand on the issue regularly. Pollution has been a major issue, especially in Delhi. Along with Swacch Bharat (Clean India), we also want a pollution-free India. We have decided that we will move to BS-VI norms across the country directly from BS-IV norms by April 1, 2020. This is a revolutionary decision and important to address pollution,” said Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The Petroleum Ministry would spend Rs.30,000 crore for upgrading refineries to implement the clean fuel technology., he said.

The minister urged automobile manufacturers, who had opposed an early deadline to implement the norms due to financial burden, to co-operate.

“I am confident the automobile industry will support us on this move. We will support them in the difficulties that they face but to control pollution, they also need to support us…Many auto companies already export car engines which support the BS VI norms. Moreover, we have given them time till 2020 to implement it,” Mr. Gadkari said.

The decision was taken a day after the Supreme Court pressed for implementing clean vehicular fuel norms soon amid concerns on rising air pollution in the country, especially in Delhi. BS-VI is the Indian equivalent of the Euro-VI norms followed globally.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had asked the government to implement BS-VI norms earlier than the April 2021 deadline fixed by the Union government. The apex court also ordered shutting down more entry points at the national capital border for heavy commercial vehicles not meant for Delhi.

The BS-VI norms will be implemented for new vehicles by April 2020 and for existing vehicles by April 2021 and a notification will be issued by the Union government soon, according to sources in the ministry.

“According to the practice, there is a difference of one year in implementing the norms for existing vehicles. So, the norms may be applicable to the existing vehicles by 2021…The move will lead to increase of car costs by Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 as per our rough estimates,” a senior road ministry official said.

The Road Ministry had issued a draft notification in November to introduce BS-V and BS-VI norms for new vehicles from 2019 and 2021 respectively. It was planned to switch to BS-V and BS-VI norms for existing vehicles from April 1 2020 and April 1, 2022 respectively.

In fact, the government’s first roadmap had proposed implementing BS-VI norms from April one, 2024.

At present, BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in over 30 cities while the rest of the country has BS-III fuels.

Apart from Mr. Gadkari, the meeting was attended by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Ananta Geete and government officials.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.