Overage vehicle fuel ban in Delhi to be put on hold until November 1: Report

The CAQM had issued directions to fuel stations in April, saying no end-of-life vehicles should be given fuel from July 1.

Overage vehicle fuel ban in Delhi is said to be put on hold until November 1, reports news agency PTI citing CAQM sources.

The Delhi government had sought a temporary hold on contentious order denying fuel to 'end of life' cars - the term for petrol vehicles registered over 15 years ago and diesel vehicles more than 10 years.

Addressing the press, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that he urged the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to hold its directions mandating a ban on fuel sales to end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in the capital.

Additionally, the environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced that old vehicles will not be impounded in the national capital, reported News 18. “Delhi Chief Minister has assured residents that old vehicles will not be impounded arbitrarily. We will not allow old vehicles to be impounded. At the same time, we are committed to controlling pollution in Delhi," News 18 reported quoting Sirsa.

He added, “Delhi residents are already facing issues regarding End-of-Life Vehicles. The government has written to the Chairman of CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) and stated that it lacks the necessary infrastructure to implement the policy." The minister said the old vehicle owners were getting fuel from Delhi’s neighbouring cities like Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram, etc in the absence of any such policy there.

The minister said the old vehicle owners were getting fuel from Delhi’s neighbouring cities like Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram, etc in the absence of any such policy there.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision put the policy on hold, the minister explained: ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras are not working properly, loudspeakers are malfunctioning, and there is no coordination with vehicle data across Delhi-NCR. He further stated, “There are several technical glitches, and the government has no real-time system in place to notify citizens about their vehicles being marked as EOL."

“We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR,” the minister said in the letter to CAQM.

The CAQM had issued directions to fuel stations in April, saying no end-of-life vehicles should be given fuel from July 1. End-of-life (EOL) vehicles included diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years, irrespective of the states in which they are registered in.