(PTI)
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to file an affidavit on a plea on the issue of air pollution and questioned the subsidy on diesel and imposition of 150 per cent import duty on electric cars in India.A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked the government to file its affidavit within four weeks in the matter and said it would look into these issues.At the outset, Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, representing the Centre, sought some time to file an affidavit in the matter.Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for some of the petitioners, told the bench that something was needed to be done on the continuance of subsidy on diesel in the country since the sale of diesel vehicles have risen from 30 per cent to nearly 65 per cent in Delhi alone.
“The other issue is of import duty on electric vehicles. In India, there is 150 per cent import duty on electric vehicles,” he said.Meanwhile, Nadkarni told the bench that issues raised by the petitioners regarding pollution from crop burning and vehicular pollution was already being dealt with by another bench of the apex court headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.
