The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has refused to allow registration of 10 new diesel vehicles conforming to Bharat Stage-III norms in the wake of the ban imposed by the Supreme Court. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar declined to grant the relief to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), saying that it has no jurisdiction to entertain the plea. “The counsel appearing for EDMC submits that the order dated March 30, 2017 be modified as their application is for registering of BS-III vehicles which has been purchased by the Corporation. In view of the order passed by the Supreme Court of India recently, we have no jurisdiction to entertain this application,” the Bench said. On March 29th, the Supreme Court had imposed a ban on sale and registration of vehicles, which are not BS-IV compliant, from April 1 when the new emission norms came into force. Observing that the health of the people was “far, far more important than the commercial interests of the manufacturers”, the apex court had said that the makers of such vehicles have declined to take “sufficient proactive steps” despite being fully aware that the firms would be required to manufacture only BS-IV compliant vehicles from April 1, 2017.