VW emission scandal: VW directed to pay Rs 100 crore by NGT

As per a report by PTI, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed German carmaker Volkswagen to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Environment Ministry's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as a part of case against the company for violating emission norms.

The tribunal bench also formed a committee consisting of members from the CPCB, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to calculate the quantum of environment loss.

The PTI report also states that the bench directed this committee to submit its final report within a month and asked both parties of the ongoing case – the petitioner and the company – to appear before the bench in a week’s time. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed to ban sale of Volkswagen vehicles in the country for allegedly violating emission norms.

The emissions scandal originally emerged in 2015 with the brand being accused of using cheat devices to help its vehicles pass emissions tests in markets across the globe.

In 2015, the Automotive Research Association of India found discrepancies with the laboratory and on-road emission testing of VW’s EA189 diesel engine – a discovery that will lead to a recall of over 3 lakh Volkswagen Group vehicles. Earlier this year, the NGT had pulled up Volkswagen as it was yet to recall nearly 36 percent of vehicles.