SC orders govt to implement Euro III

KATHMANDU, SEP 26 -

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered the government to implement the Euro III vehicle emission standard.

The new emission standard was not being implemented fully, with automobile dealers demanding at least a year’s time for the execution.

A division bench of justices Girish Chandra Lal and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki on Tuesday issued the order, directing the government to implement the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard (NVMES) 2012, which bars the import of vehicles that do not comply with Euro III, and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard 2012.

On September 6, advocate Jivan Kumar Pokhrel had filed a writ petition against the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and Sipradi Trading, seeking the SC’s order to implement the new emission standard.

Nepal has been importing vehicles based on the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard 1999 (Euro I) for last 13 years. As per the new emission standard, all vehicles, except for heavy equipment vehicles, entering Nepal are required to be in compliance with Euro III.  About one and half months ago, the government had published a notice in the Nepal Gazette, implementing the NVMES 2012. However, automobile dealers criticised the government’s move, saying they were not consulted before bringing the provision.

NADA, the apex body of automobile and spare parts dealers, had, however, welcomed the government move, but had also demanded that the government allow dealers to import vehicles built under old standards that have already been ordered for a certain time. “This is good that the SC too has directed to implement the new emission standard,” said NADA member Gopi Krishna Neupane. But he underscored the need for correcting some minor mistakes in the NVMES 2012 notice published in the gazette.

Lack of ‘hi-tech’ workshops and delay in bringing vehicle fitness test centres into operation have been highlighted as major hurdles for the effective implementation Euro III.

Source: The Kathmandu Post