West Bengal Government Likely to Seek Extension for Compliance with Bharat Stage II Emission Standards by All Vehicles Plying in Kolkata

West Bengal Government Likely to Seek Extension for Compliance with Bharat Stage II Emission Standards by All Vehicles Plying in Kolkata

In view of the difficulties expressed by vehicle owners, transporters and vehicle manufacturers, West Bengal Government is likely to seek extension of time from the Kolkata High Court for implementation of Hon'ble Court's direction on compliance with Bharat Stage-II (BS-II) Emission Standards.

It may be recalled that in a PIL seeking the intervention of the judiciary on the rising pollution levels in Kolkata, the Kolkata High Court in its order dated 3rd April 2003 had given the following directions:

1)	Within a year, all vehicles, be it private or commercial, operating in Kolkata Metropolitan Area, should conform to BS-II Emission Standards.
2)	All 3 & 2-wheelers too, shall conform to BS-II norms either by converting to CNG, LPG or any other mode so as to conform to BS-II Emission Standards at the time of new registration.
3)	All vehicles including 2 & 3-wheelers, at present operating will have to conform to BS-II norms within one year by adopting any of the methods i.e CNG, LPG or any other conventional method.
4)	All 2 & 3-wheelers operating in Kolkata without licence shall be checked by the State and properly booked for taking necessary steps.
5)	Union of India will ensure the regular supply of LPG, CNG and other conventional fuel with minimum lead content so that such gas or fuel may be available easily in Kolkata and the consumers are not put to hardship.
6)	It must be the responsibility of the State to see that there are adequate number of properly equipped testing centres and the testing equipments available with these centres are properly calibrated from time to time and are equipped to test the vehicles for compliance with BS-II Emission Standards.
7)	Union of India and oil companies will ensure sufficient outlets to avoid hardship to the public at large.
8)	If the vehicles do not change over to conform to BS-II Emission Standards within one year, then the State Government will ensure that such vehicles are not allowed to operate in KMA.

Accordingly, effective from 3rd April 2004, all vehicles plying in Kolkata Metropolitan Area shall have to conform to BS-II Emission Standards. Transport Department organized a public meeting with all Transport Operators in Kolkata on 10th March 2004 under the Chairmanship of Mr Subhas Chakraborty, Minister for Sports and Transport, Govt. of West Bengal, with the objective to seek opinion from transport operators on the issue of converting all vehicles to BS-II. Transporters informed the Government that it was not possible to upgrade in-use vehicles to meet BS-II norms from 2nd Apr'04. They asked the State Government to evolve a scheme for providing financial support to vehicle owners to convert to BS-II. They also urged the Government to consider supporting organizations/individuals who claim to have developed retrofitment devices to upgrade the vehicles to meet BS-II standards for necessary approval from the testing agencies. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) too has expressed its concern on the issue. Manufacturers are not geared for commercial production of 2/3-wheelers complying with BS-II standards, as the Mashelkar Committee had recommended its implementation only in 2005. As regards commercial vehicles, while new vehicles conform to BS-II standards, cost effective solutions need to be found for conversion of existing fleet of vehicles to meet BS- II standards.