Date:25/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/25/stories/2005032502900100.htm

Back Cabinet defers Bharat II diesel norms in 7 States till Oct 1

Our Bureau

New Delhi , March 24

THE Union Cabinet on Thursday deferred implementing Bharat Stage II diesel fuel norm across seven States by six months.

This means Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir will continue to sell Bharat Stage I grade diesel up to October 1 against the earlier deadline of April 1.

Industry officials point out that the Government was compelled to defer the implementation of Bharat Stage II norms across these seven States after oil companies sought more time to meet the guidelines.

It is learnt that Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is upgrading its Panipat and Mathura refineries to meet the new norms but this will take another 2-3 months.

Also, Reliance Petroleum has not committed supplies of adequate diesel quantity needed for the domestic market.

However, automobile makers across the board are ready with Bharat Stage III compliant variants, which carry a higher price tag than existing models.

In today's meeting, the Cabinet approved introduction of BS II grade diesel by April 1 in all States except the seven .

Also, petrol and diesel of BS III equivalent grade would be made available in all the 11 major cities and petrol of BS II grade would be made available throughout the country from April 1.

The 11 cities where BS III norms will be introduced from April 1 include the National Capital Region, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Agra and Surat.

Relocation is bad for your vehicle's `heart'

RELOCATING to another city could mean bad news for your car.

More specifically, if you live in a metro and are planning to shift to any of the seven States, in which implementation of Bharat Stage II norms has been postponed by six months, the BS I grade diesel could create trouble for your new BS III compliant car.

Automobile industry experts point out that continued use of BS I grade diesel on a BS III compliant car could damage the catalytic converter and even the car's engine in the long run. "The extent of the damage would depend on how long a BS III compliant car has been operating in the BS I region. Sustained operation of the car in the region could result in impairment of emission performance and affect the catalytic converter.

"The engine would, however, be impacted if the BS I grade diesel is used for months together," said Mr K.K. Gandhi, Executive Director - Technical, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.