- Phasing out luxury petrol and diesel cars could aid EV promotion, said Supreme Court
- The Court suggested banning high-end petrol and diesel cars first, so that the masses are not affected
- The government said 13 ministries are involved in EV policy implementation
Phasing out luxury petrol and diesel cars could be the starting point for a proper implementation of the Centre's plans to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs), the Supreme Court said today.
The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a public interest litigation that seeks effective implementation of the government's EV promotion policies.
"One idea based on some experiences in dealing with cases ... now in electric vehicles also, there are very good bigger cars introduced in the market which can be as convenient as the other gas guzzlers which many VIPs and big companies are using," Justice Kant said.
"I am not naming anyone because I don't want to cause any prejudice. Just think of imposing a ban on the very high-end vehicles first of all. So it will not affect the common man. Because very small part of the Indian population can afford that," he added.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, who was appearing for the Centre, said the government, too, favours this idea. He said 13 ministries are actively involved in this matter and that the government is proceeding on this front.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said the prices of electric vehicles were earlier high, and incentive schemes were introduced to encourage people to buy them. The key challenge now is the lack of adequate charging stations for such cars.
The court said more charging stations will come up as the number of electric vehicles on the roads increases. "These are market-related issues. As (number of) electric vehicles increases, charging stations will also come up," the bench said, adding that charging facilities can also be introduced at more petrol pumps.
The court also said the EV policy may need to be reviewed.
The Attorney General said he would file a detailed report on the notifications issued so far. The matter will be heard next after four weeks.
