Soon you may not be able to register diesel vehicles in Delhi

It’s been a busy week out in there in the capital, with so many important decisions being taken. Case in point being the implementation of the rule from next year that only odd and even numbered cars will be allowed on the roads on alternate days. The system will be tested for 15 days.

Now, in another equally unprecedented announcement of sorts, the National Green Tribunal has said that no diesel vehicles will be registered in New Delhi. Not just that, the Centre and State government have also been notified about not using diesel vehicles for official purposes or their departments.  So will this ring the death knell for diesel vehicles in the capital? What will happen to buyers who are awaiting their diesel cars? 

Petitioner Arvind Gupta has requested the Chief Justice of India, TS Thakur, to hear the case. Reports say that Justice Thakur had responded by saying that all the cases related to pollution in Delhi and other cities were being taken up on December 15 and this too would be part of that hearing. 

The petition was originally filed in 2013 and now since there is enough awareness regarding the matter in the capital, it has been raked up again to see what results it yields this time. 

The news has taken us by surprise and surely will have raised the hackles of many diesel car owners in the capital and car manufacturers as well. People are still trying to wrap their heads around the odd-even number car idea  and now if this were to come to pass too, then car buying trends, sales reports and the auto industry will be in for an upheaval. 

Since it is a petition till now, we hope that enough thought and research will go into even thinking about implementing this idea. And once it is implemented in the capital, it is but natural that other cities and metros will soon be asked to follow suit. 

These petitions have suddenly gained prominence thanks to reports of pollution in New Delhi reaching unprecedented heights. So the government is trying its level best to clamp down on environment polluters. Clearly, a lot of infrastructure, logistic costs, buying costs etc will have to be considered before this petition is actually considered.