Emission fiasco: NGT slaps Rs 500 crore fine on Volkswagen
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal Thursday slapped a fine of Rs 500 crore on German auto major Volkswagen for damaging the environment through the use of "cheat device" in its diesel cars in India.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the carmaker to deposit the amount within two months.
The green panel on November 16, 2018 had said that use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to inference of environmental damage and had directed it to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
It had also constituted a joint team of representatives of the CPCB, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which had recommended Rs 171.34-crore fine on Volkswagen as "health damages" for causing air pollution in Delhi due to excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
The tribunal was hearing pleas filed by Ailawadi, a school teacher, and a few others seeking ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles for alleged violation of emission norms.
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Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London faces tech issue; returns to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.
The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said.
An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.
The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situation and said the airline was making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.
Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be ascertained.
The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace. In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in the national capital, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.
Air India started operating A350-900 planes from January 2024.
