Banning BS-III vehicles

The Supreme Court ruling, though in public interest, is a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of pollution (“SC bans sale of BS-III vehicles from April 1”, March 30). We need not one reform but a parcel of reforms to holistically address the problem of emissions. Power plants are also largely responsible for air pollution; thus we must make mandatory ultra supercritical thermal power generators in Tier-I cities. The entire discourse is currently on big cities, but with lax standards, smaller cities are also becoming largely unliveable due to severe pollution. We need robust air monitoring systems and strict enforcement of pollution abatement guidelines.

Gagan Pratap Singh,

Noida, U.P.

The court’s clampdown on the registration and sale of BS-III fuel compliant vehicles with immediate effect is uncharitable to the auto industry. The observation that health hazards are of primary importance is no answer to the massive financial loss suffered by motor vehicle manufacturers. The court should have given them substantial time so that ready-to-deliver vehicles could have been sold. The pollution issue has been raging for a while, so the court had enough time to send the message across.

V. Lakshmanan,

Tirupur