Sales plummet as Delhi diesel turns clean, costly

Higher fuel price is threatening to rob Delhi of the environmental benefits of implementing Euro-IV diesel, a cleaner version of the fuel introduced a month ago.

Higher fuel price is threatening to rob Delhi of the environmental benefits of implementing Euro-IV diesel, a cleaner version of the fuel introduced a month ago.

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With diesel here Rs 3-4 costlier than in the neighbourhood, motorists are tanking up on the cheaper Euro-III and II fuel in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. As a result, April saw a 60 percent drop in Delhi’s diesel sale compared to the same period in 2009 and 2008.

“Most commercial trucks are buying the dirtier diesel and polluting Delhi’s air because the money they save is a lot,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director, Centre for Science and Environment.

According to the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training, 25,000 diesel-run commercial goods carrier enter the city every day. “Trucks from Punjab, Himachal and Haryana were huge buyers (of diesel here) but they have stopped tanking up from us now,” said Nishit Goel of Delhi Petrol Dealers Association, an umbrella body of 400 pumps.

The price hike was also fueled by the increase in value-added tax on diesel from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent in the last budget. In comparison, Haryana and Punjab charge just 8.8 per cent. “We need uniform taxation on diesel across states,” Roychowdhury said.