The Union Cabinet asked refineries to stick to the April 1, 2005 deadline for providing Euro-III quality diesel to 11 major cities: Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Agra, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad and Kanpur. The move will drastically cut sulphur content in diesel, making the fuel that much cleaner.

However, cities and small towns waiting for the Centre to take the initiative in cleaning polluted air will be dissappointed, as the Centre has put off providing Euro-II quality fuel to the entire country for another six months. Air quality in cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Faridabad, Dehradun, Jamshedpur, Mandi, Raipur and Alwar is far worse than that in Delhi.

Euro-II diesel will be supplied in all states except Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal, western Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh where the new deadline would be October 1, 2005.

According to the auto fuel roadmap drawn up in 2001, refineries had agreed to provide diesel with 500 parts per million (ppm) sulphur to the entire country. And even more cleaner, that with 350 ppm sulphur, to 11 critically polluted cities. Sulphur-laden particulate matter are believed to be highly toxic and responsible for exacerbating asthma and causing cancer.

Refineries had been sending feelers over their inability to supply cleaner fuel. Along with the auto companies, they were asked to upgrade their technology so as to meet stricter vehicle emission norms. The upgradation would require massive investment, they said. But once refineries like Mathura, Panipat, MRPL and Reliance were able to provide cleaner fuel, competion ensured that others, too, were forced to change course towards cleaner fuel.

At present, diesel is loaded with 2,500 ppm sulphur. Switching to Euro-II fuels will mean reducing this level to 500 ppm, making diesel that much cleaner.