Ban plea: Green Tribunal issues notices to Centre, Volkswagen

With the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issuing notices to the Centre and Volkswagen Group on an emission norms’ violation petition, the fate of Volkswagen in India now hangs in balance. The German motorcar manufacturing giant is already grappling with charges of fitting rigged emission software into its vehicles in European countries. 

The apex environment court issued notices to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Volkswagen’s subsidiaries — Skoda Auto AS and Audi AG.

The court has set a two-week deadline to all parties to file their replies and fixed December 23 as the next date of hearing. Before issuing the notice, Swatanter Kumar, NGT chairperson, questioned the petitioner how the tribunal could be seen to have jurisdiction to stop the sale of the vehicles allegedly violating emission norms.

The directions came while hearing a plea by Saloni Ailawadi, a Delhi-based schoolteacher, who had sought directions to disallow “manufacturing, assembly and sale” of vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen and its group companies until it is established that they are as per the prescribed norms in India.

Ailawadi had referred to Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)’s recent report and alleged that Volkswagen and its group companies in India were “polluting the environment in blatant disregard to regulations” by selling vehicles which produce nitrogen oxide nine times higher than prescribed limit.

Ailawadi had stated that she was “deeply” concerned on account of Volkswagen’s “admitted calculated and deliberate deceit of environmental norms thereby endangering lives of Indian and global citizens”.

“Vehicles manufactured and sold by Volkswagen have been polluting the environment in blatant and utter disregard to government regulations thereby endangering the lives of millions of people who are being forced to inhale poisonous fumes and suffer extreme misery on account of ill health,” the plea alleged.

“Direct thorough inspection of vehicles being imported and sold by Volkswagen in India after their import and to disallow any further sale of such vehicles until and unless it is established that the same are not in contravene of statutory and prescribed norms as applicable in India,” it had said.

Earlier, the government had issued notice to Volkswagen after ARAI found “significant variations” in on-road emission levels in the diesel models of Jetta, Octavia, Audi A4 and Audi A6 in India. Volkswagen has admitted that 11 million diesel engine cars worldwide were fitted with the software that helped in manipulating emission tests.