Following the Supreme Court order lifting the ban on diesel vehicles with engine capacity above 2,000 cc in Delhi, the Union government has opened a bank account where the mandated environment protection charge (EPC) can be deposited.
The ban on registration of diesel passenger vehicles was imposed in December 2016 as a temporary measure to reduce air pollution in the capital. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur ordered that a levy of 1 per cent of the vehicle’s ex-showroom price, which excludes local levies and insurance cost, be paid by manufacturers and distributors of such vehicles.
The funds collected from this are to be deposited in an account of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), opened at the Indraprastha branch of Union Bank of India, the environment ministry said.