4 min readNew DelhiFeb 28, 2026 05:17 AM IST
During a meeting on Friday between Indian carmakers and an expert panel appointed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to tackle the issue of air pollution in Delhi NCR, the two sides found themselves at loggerheads, with at least three auto industry executives saying that their concerns over the proposed transition pathway were shot down by the chairperson of the committee.
Last year, the CAQM had constituted a committee, headed by Ashok Jhunjhunwala, a professor at IIT Madras, to develop strategies for abatement of air pollution caused by vehicular emissions in Delhi-NCR. In a report released by the committee last month, it said that pollution from the transport sector, including private cars and taxis, accounts for 23% of PM 2.5 concentrations, making it the largest primary source in winters in the national capital region.
The panel has also prepared draft recommendations to tackle the issue, which includes a proposal to only register electric vehicles in Delhi-NCR starting 2030. This has, however, raised significant concerns among several carmakers. On Friday the CAQM had called for a meeting with the industry on the issue of air pollution, where the committee reiterated its energy transition recommendation. Executives of Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra, Toyota, Kia, and Honda, among others are understood to have joined the meeting.
“It was a shouting match,” an executive from the auto industry said, claiming that the committee’s chairperson prevented most stakeholders present to “meaningfully present facts and figures during the meeting”.
Another executive who attended the meeting said that the chairperson’s presentation did not involve scientific calculations that had been done to arrive at the committee’s recommendations.
During the meeting, carmakers are understood to have raised concerns around the availability of land for public chargers for EVs and how several resident welfare associations push back against setting up such infrastructure. However, the chairperson is said to have downplayed these concerns.
Queries sent to CAQM, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors did not elicit a response until publication. Professor Jhunjunwala declined to comment.
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The Indian Express had earlier reported that the likely recommendation of the CAQM panel that only electric cars be registered in Delhi-NCR by 2030 to tackle air pollution in the region has spooked city gas distributors and carmakers. They have called for a technology-neutral energy transition, flagging a potential increase in infrastructure costs.
In its submission to CAQM, gas distributor Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) suggested a “dual pathway” — CNG for medium and heavy vehicles and electric mobility for two-wheelers, arguing that it will offer a “balanced, cost-effective, and operationally feasible strategy for Delhi-NCR. It also suggested diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR be phased out, and converted to CNG. “…it is important to note that CNG emits negligible particulate matter compared to other fuels… Real-world emission performance of many two-wheelers, especially those who have completed the life or poorly maintained ones shows high levels of NOx, CO, VOCs. This indicates that AQI improvement is not possible unless two-wheeler emissions are targeted through stricter testing, better compliance mechanisms, and a structured transition strategy,” IGL said.
Association of Citygas Distribution Entities (ACE) said CNG is uniquely positioned as an immediately scalable, affordable, and reliable clean transport fuel, urging the CAQM to recognise CNG as a “distinct low-emission fuel category in regulatory communications alongside EVs as low carbon and sustainable mobility,” and push EVs and CNG vehicles “through equal incentives and policy support”. Queries sent to the CAQM, IGL and ACE did not elicit a response until publication.
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