Delhi's crackdown: Here’s how AI cameras to spot overage vehicles as fuel ban kicks in from April

Fuel pumps would be equipped with devices to identify overage vehicles and restrict fuel supply to them, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said

In a move aimed at combating air pollution, the Delhi government on Saturday said that from April 1, fuel pumps in the national capital will not provide petrol and diesel to vehicles older than 15 and 10 years, respectively. The move aims to curb vehicular emissions and put a check on air pollution in Delhi.

Talking to reporters, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the Delhi government would inform the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas about the decision and the ministry would, in turn, notify the fuel pump owners. A senior official of the Delhi government told PTI that diesel-run vehicles older than 10 years will also be denied fuel after March 31. According to rough estimates, there are around 55 lakh overage vehicles, 66 per cent of which are two-wheelers and 54 per cent four-wheelers, the officer said.

Installation of smart devices

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that fuel pumps would be equipped with devices to identify overage vehicles and restrict fuel supply to them. Delhi has around 500 petrol-diesel stations.

"We are setting up gadgets at our petrol pumps that will identify vehicles older than 15 years. They will not be provided fuel," Sirsa said as reported by news agency PTI.

An official told PTI that many fuel stations in Delhi have already installed AI-enabled cameras to check violations of pollution under control (PUC) certificate rules while sharing details about the implementation of new rules.

"These cameras currently detect vehicles which do not have PUC certificate and the fuel pump staff deny fuel to such vehicles. We can also use these AI-enabled cameras to detect the age of particular vehicles. For this, we need to upgrade our system," the officer added.

He said the fuel pumps which currently do not have such devices will have them installed soon.

The Delhi government will also deploy teams to identify overage vehicles and ensure they are either prevented from entering the city or removed if already present.

The Delhi government also plans to phase out nearly 90 per cent of CNG-driven public transport buses in Delhi by December 2025, replacing them with electric buses to promote cleaner and more sustainable transport. According to the Delhi government, 11,000 buses, including around 8,000 e-buses, will be procured by 2026.

Nischal Singhania, the president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association, welcomed the move and said, "Vehicles older than 15 years are already banned in Delhi by the Supreme Court." "We already have apparatus to detect vehicles without pollution under control (PUC) certificates. I think those can be used to detect vehicles older than 15 years," he said to PTI.

Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmentalist, said there is no scientific study that proves only vehicles older than 15 years are responsible for air pollution.