Delhi, NCR to get BS-VI grade fuel by 2018 to help in war against pollution

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said BS-VI grade fuel will be implemented in NCR in April of 2018. While IOC has reportedly said it is ready, the news may not go down too well with auto companies.

Upgrade to BS-VI grade fuel is expected to bring down vehicular emissions but auto companies may not be too pleased about the new dateline. (File photo)

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday announced that the National Capital Region (NCR) will get BS-VI grade fuel in April of 2018 - preponing the launch which was earlier scheduled for the entire country in April of 2020. Highlighting the need to curb vehicular pollution, the decision was announced by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan took to Twitter to make the announcement and wrote that it was an effort to battle rising pollution in NCR. "Happy to share that Government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi w.e.f. 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas." 

Happy to share that Government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi w.e.f. 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas. — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 15, 2017

While crop burning and prevailing weather conditions have been primarily blamed for the alarming levels of pollution seen in NCR this month, pollution from vehicles too are widely regarded as big contributors in falling air quality standards. Delhi alone has the highest vehicle-to-person ratio in the entire country and a shift to BS-VI grade fuel - a cleaner alternative to the existing BS IV - is expected to help reduce vehicular pollution. The government earlier in the year had announced that BS-V would be skipped.

While this may be good news for the environment - especially with Indian Oil reportedly saying it is ready to supply BS-VI grade by April of next year, auto companies may struggle to upgrade their vehicles. Many had already expressed reservations about meeting with the 2020 deadline.