Diesel car ban galvanizes manufacturers into pushing for stable guidelines
The Supreme Court decision banning cars with diesel engines above 2000cc from being sold in Delhi & NCR has blindsided auto-manufacturers in the country. Across the board, each manufacturer has been trying to evaluate the immediate impact of the order and its long-term ramifications. There is fear over similar rulings being passed across other markets in the country. Such ad-hoc rulings wreak untold havoc on the investment plans of car makers.
It all began with the deteriorating air-quality across key cities in India. As warning bells began to sound from monitoring institutions such as the World Health Organization and others, drastic measures were in order. But industry folks would rather the authorities to have taken a more comprehensive view of the situation at hand.
Diesel cars have become the lynch-pin in this entire issue. There is still a lot of scope for comprehensive research to be conducted before a holistic policy framework can be laid-out. There is no denying the fact that India is home to an alarming 13 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. But to ban high-capacity diesel engines saying that they are the sole culprits will do the issue great injustice and harm.
According to studies conducted a couple of years ago, Buses, Commercial Vehicles and farm equipment accounted for over half of the total diesel fuel consumption in the country. Yet, the Supreme Court ruling has come out targeting the 20-odd percent comprising all diesel cars and Utility Vehicles. The latter percentage includes both, personal vehicles as well as those deployed in commercial practices.
From an industry perspective, the government would do well to lay-down the expectations by means of a roadmap, over a long-term period spanning a decade or two. Unless that happens, large scale investments in the sector and the down-stream funding allocations would be in a limbo. Such a scenario would wreak untold havoc across the entire economy.
Coming back to the Supreme Court’s decision; there is one ginormous takeaway for the country, the flaws and misguided zealousness notwithstanding. The news about the hazardous air-quality that’s affecting public health is finally out in the open. What remains is to identify all the sources, evaluating their contribution to the problem and laying down, long term policy guidelines towards mitigating them. Unless the right causes are identified and a comprehensive solution framework is designed, things will deteriorate into a muck-fight and the biggest losers will be the citizens themselves.
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