Supreme Court Asks Centre To Submit Policy Decisions Taken To Promote Electric Vehicles

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 22) granted the Centre four weeks to file a counter affidavit along with all policy decisions taken by the Centre from time to time to promote electric vehicles.

The development happened in a PIL seeking the promotion and implementation of electric vehicle policies.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan also requested Senior Counsel Devashish Bharukha for the respondents to inform Attorney General R Venkatramani to assist in the matter on the next date of hearing, on September 23, 2024.

The PIL was filed in 2019 by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Common Cause, and SitaRam Jindal Foundation. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the petitioners.

The petitioners submit that the fundamental rights of citizens to health and a clean environment under Articles 14 and 21 are being violated due to the government's inaction in mitigating the impact of climate change and air pollution, partly attributable to emissions from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

“government has abdicated its duty to protect the citizens right to health and clean environment under Article 14 and Article 21. Governmental apathy in suitably implementing the recommendations of its own agencies has led to spiraling emissions from fossil fuel-based vehicles contributing to the problems of Climate Change and Air Pollution turning our cities into virtual 'gas chambers'”, the petition reads.

The petitioners seek directions to the Centre to implement the recommendations of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020, promulgated in 2012 by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, and the recommendations of the Zero Emission Vehicles: Towards a Policy Framework, promulgated in September 2018 by the Niti Aayog.

The petitioners further seek directions to the respondents to adopt the best practices of the international community incentivizing Demand Creation and Charging infrastructure such as preferential parking, exemption from paying toll, subsidizing private ownership of charging infra structure, providing for fast as well as normal charging infrastructure at parking spaces, mandating charging infrastructure in private apartments etc.

The petition contends that the government's failure to suitably implement these recommendations is the direct cause of high air pollution levels in Indian cities, which have severe negative health impacts on citizens, especially children.

The petition highlights that the burning of fossil fuels contributes significantly to the buildup of greenhouse gases, leading to global warming, climate change, and air pollution.

Reports from credible organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), World Health Organization (WHO), and various medical journals have documented the detrimental effects of air pollution on public health, the petition contends.

The petition claims that that implementation of government initiatives such as the NEMMP 2020 and the Niti Aayog's policy framework, which recommended various measures to promote electric vehicles, including demand creation, infrastructure development, supply-side measures, and research and development, is inadequate.

The petitioners also emphasized the economic and technological feasibility of electric vehicles, noting that the cost of renewable energy has fallen significantly, making it cheaper than fossil fuel-based energy.

The petition refers to policy recommendations by Niti Aayog, which emphasized the need for financial incentives, infrastructural support, and a feebate system to promote electric vehicles. It also cites international examples from countries like Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China, highlighting successful strategies for promoting electric vehicles through various incentives and subsidies.

The petitioners have specifically sought for measures to create assured demand for electric vehicles by government fleets and public transportation, provide demand-side incentives to consumers to bridge the initial cost gap for acquiring electric vehicles, develop requisite charging infrastructure for buses at depots and adequate charging facilities in cities, encourage private investment in charging infrastructure, mandate charging facilities in public buildings, and implement a feebate system to finance the transition towards e-mobility by levying fees on polluting vehicles to provide rebates for electric vehicle adoption.

Case no. – Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).228/2019

Case Title – Centre For Public Interest Litigation & Ors v. Union of India & Anr.