NEW DELHI, July 7: The government will announce a new set of motor vehicle emission norms by the end of this month. Secretaries of the surface transport, environment and law ministries will be meeting on July 16 to finalise the norms.

Sources in the surface transport ministry said that the norms will be notified to the industry through a gazette by July 20.

The industry will be given three years' time to make the necessary changes in the engines of all types of vehicles before the norms are implemented in April, 2000.

Through a gazette in March, 1997, the ministry had given 45 days to both the industry and various ministries to send in their suggestions to the emission norms draft.

Sources said the major complaint posed by the industry was that the norms were too stringent. However, the norms that the ministry has chalked out for India have outlived their utility in Europe and other western countries. In fact, they have started planning out a new set of norms, sources added.

The new norms suggested are as follows:

*The test shall be as per the modified Indian Driving Cycle with cold start on chassis dynamometer.

*There should be no crankcase emission.

*Evaporative emission should not be more than 2.0g/test.

*Reference fuel and commercial fuel shall be as notified by the forests ministry vide a notification in April, 1996.

*Emission of visible pollutants (smoke shall not exceed the limit value to smoke density, which is expressed as light absorption co-efficient for various nominal flows).

These smoke limits are without correction factor.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.