Three environmental groups filed a petition last week asking the Supreme Court to direct the government not implement the agreement reached between Nepal and India regarding the import of Indian vehicles. The petitioners charge that the agreement announced in the joint communiqu? at the end of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's visit last month not only violates the Nepal Mass Emission Standards 2056 (1999) but also the fundamental right of the citizens to breathe clean air as guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal 1990. Nepal's emission standard requires vehicle importers to submit Type Approval (TA) and Conformity of Production (COP) certificate certified by a government-recognised authority. But the joint statement not only annulled the requirement of COP certificate but also allows vehicle imports on the basis self-certification by the manufacturers.