Firman to ban 10-year-old diesel cars anti-people
Overzealous busybodies sometimes defeat the most well-intentioned of goals. The National Green Tribunal is a perfect example of such counter-productive hyper-activity. Its knee-jerk decision to ban all diesel vehicles aged 10 years or more from Delhi roads, confirms its Tughlaqian mindset. First, 10 years is not long enough for a vehicle to be condemned as scrap. Cars and trucks, if regularly maintained, can run efficiently for at least double that number of years. The question that needs to be debated is whether 10 year old vehicles are roadworthy and, if they have polluting emissions under control. In most countries, it is not their age but roadworthiness that determines whether a vehicle can be permitted to ply. In developed countries, vehicles have to undergo a roadworthiness-test every year once they cross the 10-year barrier.
In fact, a five-year-old vehicle, if not looked after with due care, may spew more venomous pollutants than cars much older. So, it is the individual health of vehicles that should decide if they can be allowed on the road. Already, vehicles aged 15 years or more are not permitted on Delhi's roads. This is a ceiling that must be considered reasonable. Indeed, vehicles past 15 years of age are internationally regarded as past serviceable condition, even if they have been maintained regularly. Therefore, there is no logic in bringing forward the age of mercy-killing of diesel vehicles alone. The problem with tribunals like the NGT is that in their over-enthusiasm to gather brownie points from the radical fringe, they ride roughshod over the public good. For the average middle class car-owner in India, a vehicle is a lifetime's purchase; very often bought with a bank loan whose repayment duration sometimes exceeds 10 years. To penalise these thrifty families by reducing their vehicle's resale value to junk in 10 years, is unacceptably cruel. Over the years, buyers have increasingly opted for diesel vehicles because the latter are cheaper to run compared to the petrol versions. Arbitrarily and suddenly cutting down the life span of diesel vehicles amounts to promoting petrol cars which come with a higher operational price tag.
The NGT has of late been guilty of overstepping its mandate in many areas. It has appropriated for itself the role of a super cop in environmental matters, including in real estate development. Its activism has thwarted the pace of growth of the housing sector. And it will now be accused of putting brakes on the expansion of the used car segment. Besides, its latest firman on diesel cars in Delhi and the National Capital Region is discriminatory, as other cities will not be subject to similar bullying by the NGT's whimsical rule. In view of the tribunal's penchant to play to the gallery at the cost of logic, the time has come to consider whether it is serving any purpose at all. The multiplicity of authorities is often at the root of corruption and nepotism in India. The NGT seems to be steadily sliding towards this denouement with its anti-people diktats. The Modi Government may end up forfeiting some goodwill if its fails to restrain the NGT’s runaway activism. There will be a huge sigh of relief if the Government recognises the damage this tribunal is doing and decides to disband it.