Ban on fuel to ‘end of life’ vehicles in Delhi put on hold till November 1

The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on Tuesday deferred the ban on refuelling of overage or ‘end of life’ vehicles (ELVs) in Delhi to November 1. The prohibition will now come into effect in the national capital on the day it is scheduled to be enforced in the five adjoining ‘high-vehicle-density’ (HVD) districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Sonipat.

The pollution control body had on April 23 announced a ban on the refuelling of overage vehicles — petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years — in Delhi from July 1. It had directed authorities to impound the ELVs.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa lauded the “people-centric” decision. “This is a big relief for thousands of citizens who were unfairly impacted. I thank the CAQM for acting swiftly on our concerns,” he said. The Minister added, “Delhi will not tolerate selective and faulty enforcement. Unlike the previous governments that looted the city, our government is committed to protecting people’s rights and dignity.”

The development was also welcomed by fuel retailers and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

Although the Delhi government had initially supported the directive, after facing public backlash, Mr. Sirsa had on July 3 written to the Centre’s air quality monitoring panel, requesting that it put the directive on hold, as enforcing the prohibition would be “premature and potentially counterproductive” due to “operational and infrastructural challenges”.

‘Address tech. issues’

In its order, the CAQM allowed more time for the Delhi government “to address the technological gaps in implementation of ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) system and align enforcement across the NCT of Delhi with the enforcement in five HVD districts of NCR i.e. Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Sonipat w.e.f. 01.11.2025”.

The Central panel directed the transport departments of Delhi and the NCR States to conduct installation, trials, and training of the ANPR system ahead of the scheduled ban and ensure “strict compliance [of the ban on refuelling of overage vehicles] through effective enforcement measures”.

‘Have ample time’

The Delhi Petrol Dealers Association said the decision by the CAQM will give retailers of the nearly 400 fuelling stations in the city ample time to implement the anti-pollution measure.

“It will allow the government to address technical issues and carry out trial runs at petrol pumps,” said Nischal Singhania, the DPDA president.

Meanwhile, RWA representatives called for a relook at the definition of overage vehicles. “Referring to private vehicles as ‘overage’ or ‘end of life’ without any pollution check does not make sense. A robust and transparent PUC (Pollution Under Control) system can keep polluting vehicles, new or old, away from the roads,” said B.S Vohra, president of the East Delhi Federation of RWAs.