The West Bengal government has revoked its order banning private non-commercial vehicles which do not conform to Euro I norms by July 1, 1999, and Euro II by April 2000, from plying within the Calcutta Metropolitan Area (cma). The state government had earlier passed the order without directions from the Union government. It is believed that the volte-face, a day before the order was to be enforced, was apparently due to pressure from the automobile industry.

Officials of the state environment department say that no new deadline has been set. Although a formal notification from the state ministry for environment and forests had not been issued, the government had made an announcement on June 13 that it would ban non-Euro I compliant vehicles after July 1. This decision followed close on the heels of the Supreme Court directive enforcing stringent emission norms in the national capital region (ncr) from June 1.

It is believed that Maruti Udyog Limited (mul) lobbied hard to stall the move. A senior company official of mul confirmed that the company's managing director R S S L N Bhaskarudu had met chief minister Jyoti Basu and asked for an extension until October 1.

Ironically, a few days before this order was to be enforced, the minister for environment, Manabendra Mukherjee, had told Down to Earth that "we will not postpone the deadline. The air pollution data of Calcutta is enough to force the government to initiate measures to control air pollution. But, the Supreme Court order gave us the courage to take some action'.

The move was part of the first set of measures proposed by the Calcutta Environment Improvement Committee headed by the state home and police minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to improve air quality in Calcutta. The ministerial-level committee was formed late last year to coordinate between various departments like health, transport, environment and police who are involved in implementation of any rule notified to control pollution in the cma.

Air pollution levels in Calcutta is one of the worst in India. A study by the Calcutta University and the National Cancer Research Institute says that the condition of an average Calcuttan's lung is ten times worse than a person living in the rural areas of West Bengal.