BS Stage IV norms to be extended to 11 cities

Speaking at the 18th meeting of the Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways TR Baalu said the Department of Road Transport and Highways was in the process of notifying the rules very soon.

As per the plans, Bharat Stage-IV emission norms for four wheelers are proposed to be extended to eleven identified mega cities and Bharat Stage-III emission norms throughout the country from 1st April 2010, an official statement said.

Besides the emission norms, the consultative committee also discussed road safety norms. Baalu said expansion in road network, motorisation and urbanisation in the country has been accompanied by a rise in road accidents and the government would take all possible steps expeditiously to improve road safety scenario in the country.

During the year 2006, there were around 4.6 lakh road accidents which killed 105,749 people and injured close to 5 lakh persons in India, he said, adding these numbers translate into one road accident every minute and one road accident death every five minutes for India.

At the prices of year 2000, loss of human capital amounted to 3 per cent of GDP which in financial terms comes to Rs 55,000 crore per year, he said.