The Supreme Court order on Wednesday to stop rolling out BS-IV automobiles by April 1, 2020 means that the Indian automakers along with components’ manufacturers together will have to invest over Rs one lakh crore towards the manufacturing of BS-VI compliant vehicles.

But the apex court feels it is a small price to pay for ensuring health of citizens at a time when pollution has reached an “alarming and critical” level. The shift to BS-VI comes in less than 3.5 years since
BS-IV cars were rolled out and is the first time in the world to undergo such a massive shift. The apex court said there cannot be any compromise on the health of citizens and this has to take precedence over the “greed” of few automobile manufacturers who unfortunately want to stretch the timeline to make a “little more money”.

Noting that India has the “dubious distinction” of having 15 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said the effect of pollution on the environment and health was so huge that it cannot be compensated in the marginal extra profits that manufacturers might make.

“Therefore, if there is a conflict between health and wealth, obviously, health will have to be given precedence,” said the bench, which also comprised Justices S A Nazeer and Deepak Gupta adding, “health of the teeming millions of this country will have to take precedence over the greed of a few automobile manufacturers. The automobile manufacturers must behave responsibly”.

“The right to live in an environment free from smoke and pollution follows from the “quality” of life which is an inherent part of Article 21 of the Constitution,” it said. “When we are concerned with the health of not one citizen but the entire citizenry including the future citizens of the country, the larger public interest has to outweigh the much smaller pecuniary interest of the industry, in this case the automobile industry, especially when the entire wherewithal to introduce the cleaner technology exists.”

“We are dealing here with a situation where children and unborn children suffer from pollution and issues of inter-generational equity are involved,” the bench said and noted there was more than sufficient time for manufacturers to make BS-VI compliant vehicles.

“They (manufacturers) already have the technology to do so. The automobile industry must show the will, responsibility and urgency in this regard,” the court said in its order while deciding if BS-IV compliant vehicles should be permitted to be sold in India after March 31, 2020.

“Any extension of time in introducing the new norms which is not absolutely necessary adversely impacts the health of the citizens and is, therefore, violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” it said.

It noted that Europe had introduced Euro-VI standards way back in 2015 and India was already many years behind. “We cannot afford to fall back further even by a single day. The need of the hour is to move to a cleaner fuel as early as possible,” it said.

The court said that the Centre was pro-active in spending huge amounts of money to move to BS-VI technology but the automobile industry was coming up with a “variety of untenable excuses” just to delay its introduction by a few months.

It said that some of the manufacturers were not willing to comply with the March 31, 2020 deadline not because they do not have the technology, but because the use of technology would lead to increase in cost of vehicles which might lead to reduction in sales and ultimately their profit.

The bench also noted that the sale of vehicles was rising exponentially and even a day’s delay in enforcing BS-VI norms was going to harm the health of the people. “Do we as a society or as manufacturers of automobiles have a right to manufacture more polluting vehicles when we have the technology to manufacture less polluting vehicles? The answer is obviously a big NO,” the bench said. “The amount spent on countering the ills of pollution such as polluted air, damaged lungs and the cost of health care far outweigh the profits earned,” it said.

                                                                                                       —India Legal Bureau