NEW DELHI: As the Delhi government inches closer to enforcing its policy of denying fuel to overaged vehicles, technical glitches in the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system are raising serious concerns among petrol pump operators.
The petrol pump dealers complained that the system has reportedly been generating erroneous data, incorrectly flagging vehicles as end-of-life despite valid registration periods.
The dealers across the city have reported frequent issues with the system, particularly involving CNG-run autorickshaws.
“We have been testing the technology where speakers attached to the ANPR cameras flag that the vehicles are older than 15 years. When verified with the registration papers of those vehicles, we get to know that the vehicles have a life of several years. The issue is specifically with the CNG-run autorickshaws,” said a dealer based in South Delhi.
The ANPR system is designed to detect overaged vehicles arriving at refuelling stations and check for valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates.
If a vehicle is found non-compliant, petrol pump attendants are alerted and are expected to deny fuel refilling. However, the current glitches are raising apprehensions among operators about potential chaos during rollout.
Dealers have highlighted that the issue lies in the backend of the system and urged that it be fixed before full implementation. “It needs to be corrected before we are asked to implement the anticipated plan. Else, it will create long queues,” another dealer said.