NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to form a panel to explore the feasibility of phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles, saying automobiles choking Mumbai’s roads are a major contributor to the city’s worsening air quality.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni directed the government to form a committee of experts and civil administrators within a fortnight to consider whether it will be feasible to phase out diesel- and petrol-based vehicles from Mumbai’s roads and permit only those running on CNG or electricity.
The order was passed on a public interest litigation that the HC had taken up on its own in 2023 over the city’s poor Air Quality Index. The court heard the matter on January 9. In its detailed order made available on Wednesday, the bench said vehicular pollution was a major contributor to worsening air quality in the city.