Cars targeted as rich own them: RC Bhargava

Cars are universally targeted for causing pollution as they represent “the well-off section of the society” and environmentalist lobby would like production to be stopped or reduced without considering the data, which say four-wheelers are not significant polluters in the capital, said Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava.

The auto industry leader also said the Supreme Court’s ban on diesel cars and SUVs of engine above 2,000 cc in the Capital and NCR is “totally arbitrary” as it does not address the issue of pollution by old vehicles.

Citing the findings of a study by IIT-Kanpur, he said cars contributed to only around two per cent of pollution in Delhi.

“The cars, I think, universally are the target as they represent the well-off section of the society and despite facts and numbers which we give, people don’t look at those numbers,” Mr Bhargava told reporters here during the company’s earnings conference.

While new BS-IV cars are banned, nothing has been done about the pre BS-I cars, which are even more polluting, he added.

Lakhs of old cars, which are not even BS I standard compliant, two-wheelers and trucks pollute more than the new Euro IV compliant diesel vehicles, he added.