Well-intentioned move

The govt's decision on BS-VI fuel will have limited benefits

The Union government’s decision to advance the introduction of clean Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) fuel by two years to April 1, 2018, in Delhi is a welcome move. The government has also asked the public sector oil marketing companies to evaluate the possibility of introducing BS-VI norms in the whole of the National Capital Region (NCR) by April 1, 2019. The announcement comes after governments, both at the Centre and state, have been roundly criticised for not doing enough to control rising air pollution, which has in the last fortnight turned the national capital into a veritable gas chamber with toxic smog enveloping the whole city. To be sure, vehicle exhaust is not the only contributor to the current mess; the burning of crop stubble in neighbouring states as well as construction dust are also key contributors. Yet studies, including ones by IIT-Kanpur and IIT-Delhi, have shown that rising vehicular emissions are responsible for close to 30 per cent of overall pollution. 

BS-VI fuel, which is comparable to Euro-6 fuel, will limit the level of sulphur to just 10 parts per million, one-fifth of what BS-IV fuel emits. This is not the first time that the government has decided to advance the deadline for the introduction of cleaner fuel. In January last year, it decided to skip the BS-V level and leapfrog to BS-VI standards by 2020. This is not a new approach either, European countries, too, achieved lower emission norms by targeting stiffer deadlines. Moreover, the growing severity of air pollution in Indian cities, especially in the national capital, lends strength to the argument that piecemeal efforts and an inordinately staggered approach will not be enough to address the situation.

However, there is a catch. Motor vehicles that meet BS-VI norms will be key to extracting the most out of the cleaner fuels, as the engine of a BS-IV compliant vehicle will not be able to benefit from BS-VI fuel. Car manufacturers also say allowing BS-VI vehicles to operate on BS-IV fuel can damage engines, and manufacturing BS-VI vehicles only for one city is hardly a feasible solution. The task is more onerous for companies that have vehicles spanning several categories, ranging from cars and utility vehicles to two-wheelers and trucks. Such a portfolio means the companies will have to invest more resources and time in building the requisite capabilities for successfully executing the programme. This mismatch of better fuel in sub-optimal engines is unlikely to be resolved in a hurry as car manufacturers are in no position to suddenly abandon their existing production technology and introduce a whole line of cars that are BS-VI compliant two years ahead of the government-mandated deadline of 2020. There are many other steps the government will have to take — stringently enforcing the order banning BS-II vehicles from plying in the NCR is just one of them. Overall, it is unlikely that the government’s latest move will yield any significant benefit when it comes to reducing air pollution in Delhi.