Competing to kill
Despite knowing that spm levels are extremely high in Delhi and that fine particles from diesel exhaust kill, trans national auto manufacturers in India evade the issue of diesel exhaust completely and spread total disinformation, especially as they know there is nobody in the government to question them. They are aware that as of now, there is no technology in the world that can effectively control the levels of fine particles in diesel emissions. This becomes all the more ominous in the light of who ’s conclusion that there are no safe limits of spm . So there is no reason for adding to the existing spm overload in cities like Delhi by selling more diesel cars, even if they meet the most stringent emission norms.
Moreover, articles and advertisements issued by car manu facturers and their associations have been appearing in the media, deliberately trying to mislead people about diesel cars and the state of pollution in Indian cities, Delhi in particular.
To find out what industry leaders feel about the high spm levels in Delhi, researchers with cse ’s Right to Clean Air Campaign sent a questionnaire to the top brass of transnational companies in India (see box: Needed: Answers ). This was to act as an assessment of these corporate giants’ sense of moral responsibility and how they factor in environmental and public health concerns while making their investment decisions.
Almost all chief executive officers ( ceo s) or other senior executives responded to the questionnaire. While each com pany insisted that it was concerned about the environment, not one addressed the question of particulates properly. Every single one of them evaded this issue. The tone of the ceo s’ responses was underlined by two factors: On the one hand, they want to maintain an image of concern towards public health. To this end, they do not hesitate to misinform and disinform. But their real concern is to defend their investments, which they do by saying that diesel is an environment-friendly fuel.
Deaths due to high spm levels in cities like Delhi hardly figure on the agenda of transnational carmakers. They want profits at any cost, as long as they are not caught breaking any rules. The dieselisation of the Indian private vehicle fleet is propelled by transnationals, who are very careful about what they do back home. If governance in India is weak, it is clear that even these auto giants will take advantage of it.
Sounds of wantonness
When asked why they are introducing diesel models despite being aware of the extremely high spm levels in Delhi’s air, all the ceo s and senior executives of transnational car companies went on the back foot, giving convoluted and confusing responses. In a telephonic interview with Down To Earth , Till Becker de Freitas, Mercedes-Benz India Ltd’s managing director ( md ) and ceo , said: “Our diesel cars pollute by far less than a lot of gasoline cars running on Indian roads.” While this may be true, it is beside the point. He added: “Besides, research world over has shown that diesel cars are more environment-friendly than gasoline cars.” This is totally untrue (see evidence cited earlier in the story).
Responding to the same question, A Sankara Narayanan, md , Hindustan Motors, which has launched a diesel version of the Mitsubishi Lancer, said in a telephonic interview: “I would like to tell you that according to the emission norms
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