The National Green Tribunal (NGT) slapped a fine of INR₹ 500 crore on the German automaker Volkswagen for damaging the environment through “cheat devices”.

The bench of the NGT that pronounced the fine was headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar. The car maker was asked to deposit the fine within the next two months.

On the 16th of November 2018 a green panel said that Volkswagen fit their diesel cars with “cheat devices” to bypass emission control boards.  It ordered an interim fine of INR₹ 100 crore to be deposited to the Central Pollution Control Board.

Various ministries and boards of the government recommended fine on the car maker for excess emission of nitrogen oxide in Delhi due to Volkswagen cars.

The tribunal was still to hear the plea filed by a school teacher to seek a ban on sale of volkswagen cars due to violation of emission control.

History

The Volkswagen emission scandal surfaced in September 2015.  Volkswagen had programmed their diesel cars to activate their emission control only during laboratory emission testing, making sure that the nitrogen oxide met standards of regulatories. However the diesel vehicles emitted 40 times more nitrogen oxide in the real world.

Volkswagen admitted to programming 11 million cars between 2009 and 2015.

The company was fined US$ 2.8 billion in the United States for rigging diesel-powered vehicles in 2017.

(The Pigeon Express Opinion– Volkswagen seem to have got away very lightly in India. 500 crore fine in India vs 20,000 crore in the United States. This indicates the value of Indian lives against an American citizen.)