The city is set to shed a good measure of its air pollution after the Euro-IV compliance, known as Bharat Stage-IV in India, comes into effect in the city from Thursday.
The new standard, a more stringent fuel refining process, will reduce carbon emissions of vehicles, which will help in curbing pollution in the city that has around 19 lakh registered vehicles. The downside, however, is that petrol and diesel will become dearer.
Petrol pump owners have given a thumbs up to Bharat Stage-IV. Ravi Shinde, president of petrol pump owners association, Mumbai, said, “We have learnt about the compliance coming into effect from Wednesday midnight in thirteen states across the country, but we haven’t received an official announcement about the price hike.” He added, “This compliance will help reduce the sulphur content in the fuel, leading to low emission of carbon and better burning of the fuel. In a city like Mumbai, this is quite necessary as it will help in making the metropolis smoke-free and healthier.”
Petrol pump owners say the price hike will be marginal and is not likely to affect the consumer severely. It is expected that the price of petrol will be hiked by 41 paise per litre, while diesel may be dearer by 26 paise per litre.
Sandeep Bhanushali of Worliway service station said, “Many people do not know about the compliance and why the prices are being hiked. They are going up because the production or the refining cost of the fuel has increased due to this technology, which is being introduced for the betterment of the environment”.
Chetan Modi from Amar automobiles, Kings Circle, said, “This initiative was necessary for our city and will help improve the environment. It has been introduced in many other countries where it has helped bring down the pollution levels to a large extent. People should welcome this compliance.”
Some petrol pump owners also think that this compliance will make vehicles perform better and the maintenance costs will come down as the carbon emission of the vehicles will be reduced.
