Delhi to ban diesel cars with BS 4 engine | Fusion - WeRIndia

The Delhi government has been initiating various measures to curb air pollution in the national capital. The Commission for Air Quality Management has come up with sector-wise action plans to control air pollution in the national capital region.

It wants to phase out diesel vehicles in a phased manner. It proposed a set of anti-air pollution measures to improve the air quality index in NCR.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) calls for a ban on diesel cars running on BS 4 engines if the air quality index breaches the 450-mark. During the festival time, especially during Diwali, the air quality index will be poor in and around Delhi.

As per the new policy, diesel vehicles with BS 4 engines will be banned based on the air quality index. However, essential service vehicles will be exempt from the new rule.

The new rule may also impose restrictions on BS 3 petrol cars under Stage 3 of the GRAP. In other words, the ban will come into force when Stage 3 of air pollution is severe in the region.

Stage 3 air pollution as per GRAP is marked when the air quality index (AQI) crosses the 400-mark. That is, the AQI between 401 and 450 indicates Stage 3 air pollution.

However, when AQI crosses the 450-mark, i.e. for Stage 4 of air pollution, a separate action plan will be implemented. If the air pollution reaches Stage 4, the plan calls for a ban on trucks, medium goods vehicles, and heavy goods vehicles.

There will be a ban on the entry of these vehicles into the city. Other measures have been proposed to control the air pollution in Delhi. One of them is to bar fuel to vehicles that do not have a valid pollution under control (PUC) certificate. The new rule will come into force from January 1, 2023.

Image Credit: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Car_diesel_tank_cap_20170630.jpg