Fuel curbs for old vehicles: Delhi govt urges air quality panel to put ban on hold

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Citing technological glitches and gaps in the availability of vehicle databases from NCR states, the Delhi government on Thursday approached the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to place on hold its direction to stop selling fuel to overage and polluting vehicles.

In a letter addressed to the CAQM chairperson, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa called the implementation of the ban on the sale of fuel to End-of-Life (EoL) vehicles “premature” and “potentially counterproductive”.

The Delhi government’s request to CAQM comes in the backdrop of growing discontent and outcry among EoL vehicle owners who insist on enforcing a ban on ageing vehicles that is based on their fitness and emission levels, and not just their age on paper.

The Minister said he was writing to “request the Commission to place on hold the enforcement of Direction No. 80 dated April 23, 2025, which mandates the denial of fuel to EoL vehicles in Delhi.”

The transport department has defined EoL vehicles as those which are no longer validly registered vehicles, whether running on petrol, CNG or diesel. These also include petrol vehicles more than 15 years old and diesel vehicles more than 10 years old.

Sirsa told the CAQM chief that the implementation of the direction to stop sales to EoL vehicles had revealed certain issues that must be addressed before these are fully implemented.

“It is felt that because of several crucial operational and infrastructural challenges, it will not be feasible to implement this order at this juncture; in fact, immediate implementation of Direction No. 89 may be premature and potentially counterproductive,” wrote Sirsa.

Apart from highlighting the technical imperfection of the technology relying on Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, the Minister said, “The system struggles to identify EOL where there are issues related to High Security Registration Plate (HSRP)”

He said these issues require proper trial and error corrections before implementation in Delhi.

The Delhi Minister also stressed the need for a holistic approach in the NCR region over the issue of stopping the sale of fuel to EoL vehicles.

A Delhi-only implementation of vehicle regulations is deemed ineffective as it could lead to vehicle owners circumventing bans by procuring fuel from neighbouring districts like Gurugram, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad, he said.

He also said a piecemeal approach to impose the ban could foster an illegal cross-border market for fuel, exacerbating the original problem.

Sirsa said that due to the technological inconsistencies of the ANPR complex system and the lack of integration with neighbouring states, it is not feasible to implement this system where fuel is being denied to EOL vehicles in Delhi.

“Therefore, we strongly urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the ANPR system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR. We are confident that the ongoing multi-pronged efforts of the Delhi government will achieve substantial improvements in air quality,” said Sirsa, referring to the mega plantation drive launched by the government on Thursday.

--IANS

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