BS-VI fuel to be available in 17 dist of NCR by April 1, 2019: Govt to SC

The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the BS-VI fuel will be made available by April 1, 2019, in 17 out of 23 districts in the National Capital Region.

The government told a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that BS-VI fuel will also be made available in Agra in Uttar Pradesh on or before April 1, 2019.

Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, representing the government, told the bench that it would not be possible to change the pricing structure of diesel since the maximum basic excise duty was already being levied on the fuel.

As far as other 12 metropolitan cities are concerned, it is not possible to make BS-VI fuel available there by April 1, 2019, but all attempts would be made to make it available in these areas by April 1, 2020, he said.

During the hearing, the bench said it would consider on July 13, the issue relating to whether to increase the compensatory cess on diesel vehicle.

The bench was hearing matters arising out of a 1985 PIL by environmentalist M C Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in Delhi NCR.