New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) here on Thursday asked German car-maker Volkswagen(VW) to cough up Rs 100 crore to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) by 5 pm the following day, failing which the VW’s MD will be arrested and the company’s properties can be seized, according to PTI.
This ‘Dieselgate’ scandal rocked the world in 2015 when VW was found to be cheating on emissions tests by using cheat devices. VW’s diesel cars were found to be emitting up to 40 times more Nitros Oxides (NOx) than US regulatory standards in real-world conditions.
An expert panel in Delhi calculated the damages to health and environment caused by 3.27 lakh VW cars to be Rs 171.34 crore. The panel attributed longer exposure to NO2 to the development of asthma and other respiratory infections. NOx gases are responsible for smog, acid rain and ground-level ozone, the panel had stated.
VW India had announced phase wise recall of 3.23 lakh cars to fix the emission software after ARAI found the real-world emissions to be 1.1 to 2.6 times BS-IV norms.
VW had pleaded to guilty to the charges in the US and Canada, where the company is liable to pay $2.8 billion as fine.