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Kathmandu Saturday August 19, 2000 Bhadra 03, 2057.
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Hassle-free import of Indian vehicles flayed
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Aug 18 - Lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress yesterday opposed
the agreement reached between Nepal and India during the Prime Minister’s recent
visit that permits "hassle-free" import of Indian vehicles into Nepal.
Ram Sharan Mahat, Nepali Congress lawmaker said the agreement was against the
Nepal Emission Standard 1999, the Nepali version of Euro I Emission Standard, and demanded
that the Ministry of Population and Environment immediately intervene on the matter.
"The Environment Ministry should immediately issue a statement and put
an end to import Indian vehicles that do not comply with the standards," said Mahat.
"Such a loose arrangement could lead to the import of polluting vehicles."
During Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s just concluded visit to
India, the two neighbours agreed to permit the imports of Indian vehicles into Nepal under
Nepal’s new emission norms on the basis of self-certification by Indian vehicle
manufacturers based on type approvals. Environmentalists subsequently warned of negative
impacts these "self-certified" vehicles can pose to the environment, saying the
understanding could turn Nepal into a dumping yard for India’s sub-standard vehicles.
Mahat stressed the vehicles should be allowed to enter Nepal only on
condition that the vehicle importers submit COP (Conformity of Production) test
certificates. COP test certificates are awarded six months after a vehicle starts
operating.
Former State Minister for Population and Environment Bhakta Bahadur Balayar
taking special time said the agreement should immediately be corrected, adding the
arrangement could have serious environmental repercussions.
"Nepal will turn into a dumping site for India’s polluting vehicles
given the fact that India has already adopted Euro II standard for the vehicles plying on
the Indian roads," he said.
Experts say it will be very difficult to ascertain a vehicle’s actual
emission standard without COP. Last year, the government introduced Nepal Emission
Standard 1999, the Nepali version of Euro I Emission Standard, effectively imposing a ban
on the import of vehicles other than those meeting Euro I emission norms.
So the ban turned out to be that hundreds of vehicles imported from India,
Japan and Korea were stopped at India’s Raxaul bordering Nepal’s Birgunj for
months. The vehicles bound for Kathmandu via Calcutta port were allowed to enter Nepal
only after the importers submitted such documents as Type Approval (TA) and COP
certificates.
Manufacturers of Korean and Japanese vehicles had
gone on to ask concerned ministries in their country to write official letters to Nepali
authorities so as to confirm the emission standard of the productions.
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