Tata's Rs. 1 lakh car has environmentalists frowning

Washington, January 8 : As Tata Motors is reaching close to its target of revolutionising the automobile market with its Rs. 1 lakh car, environmentalists have started to foresee the worsening of pollution levels in future.

Anumita Roychoudhury of the Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, pointed out that Tata's new car would compel other manufacturers to lower the prices of their vehicles, and thus create a huge demand for cars.

She said that the spur in car ownerships would further damage the environment.

Though Tata says that the car will not pollute more than the average motorcycle in India, Anumita wonders how the car can meet safety and emissions standards at such a low cost.

"There is this mad rush towards lowering the prices to achieve mass affordability. If vehicle ownership increases very rapidly, we'll have a time bomb ticking away. When you lower the price that drastically, how will you be able to meet the safety and emissions standards? There are no clear answers yet," the Environmental News Network quoted Anumita as saying.

ANI