Retrospective BS III emission norms from April 1

According to official sources, a notification to this effect has already been signed by road transport and highways minister Kamal Nath and is likely to be issued soon, a move which will end the month-long confusion on the implementation of the new emission norms.

"There were lot of confusion in the past one month regarding implementation of the new emission norms, mainly for two-wheelers. After the minister signing it on Friday, the norms will be effective very soon," a source said.

As per the new notification, two- and three-wheelers will adopt to BS-III norms in the 13 big cities--Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kanpur, Agra, Surat, Lucknow and Sholapur-- with effect from April 1 this year, sources said.

However, the rest of country will adhere to BS-III emission norms for all categories of vehicles, including four- wheelers, only from October 1.

Earlier, the government had notified implementing BS-IV norms for four-wheelers in top 11 cities from April 1 this year. Later on, it was decided to add Lucknow and Solapur to the list. According to the new norms to be issued in a day or two,  Lucknow and Sholapur will conform to BS-IV norms for four-wheelers from May 20.

After the notification of BS-IV for four-wheelers from April, confusion prevailed over the final amendment for two- and three-wheelers. While some manufacturers started selling BS-III motorcycles and scooters in the 13 cities, a few continue to sell BS-II two-wheelers.

Meanwhile, the 13 cities moved from BS-III grade fuel to BS-IV from April this year. The rest of the country will switch from BS-II specification fuel to BS-III in phases.

BS-IV grade auto fuel is less polluting since it restricts the presence of sulphur in the fuel. The BS-IV standard specifies a maximum of 50 parts per million of sulphur in petrol and diesel, while BS-III fuel specifications call for a maximum of 350 parts per million of sulphur.