By Mudit Dube
Starting today, fuel stations across Delhi will not provide petrol or diesel to ‘end-of-life’ vehicles. The move comes as part of the Delhi government’s efforts to combat air pollution. The ban specifically targets petrol vehicles over 15 years old and diesel vehicles over 10 years old. An estimated 62 lakh such vehicles will be affected by this decision in the national capital alone. According to a November 2024 analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), vehicles account for over half (51%) of all local emission sources in Delhi. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has now issued Statutory Direction No 89, enforcing strict measures against end-of-life vehicles across the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes goods carriers, commercial vehicles, cars, two-wheelers and more. The Transport Department has developed an enforcement strategy involving personnel from the Delhi Police, Traffic Police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). They will be deployed at busy fuel stations across Delhi. Each of these identified petrol pumps will have one traffic police officer to monitor and stop refueling of old vehicles. End-of-life vehicles will be identified by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at 498 fuel stations. The cameras, linked with the VAHAN database, will cross-check number plates and alert the fuel station operator. This information will also be shared with enforcement agencies for impounding and scrapping old vehicles. Some Delhi residents have expressed concerns over the sudden implementation of this rule without a trial run. Nischal Singhania, a petrol dealer in Delhi, said there should have been a trial run before implementing such a big scheme. Mohit, another commuter, suggested that people unaware of this move could face issues and proposed a 15-30 day trial run to create awareness among all drivers.