NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is just weeks away from enforcing its long-planned policy to deny fuel to overage vehicles—a move aimed at tackling the capital’s persistent air pollution. Of the city’s 500 fuel stations, 477 are now equipped with systems to detect vehicle age, leaving just 23 installations before full implementation.
The policy, which bars petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years from being refuelled, was initially scheduled to come into effect on April 1. However, delays in the installation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at all fuel stations pushed back the launch. Now, officials say the system is nearly ready. “We have completed device installation at 477 fuel refilling stations, with only 23 remaining. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa are closely monitoring the progress. A full rollout will take place by the end of this month,” a senior environment department official said.
So far, ANPR detection systems have been installed at 372 petrol pumps and 105 CNG stations across Delhi. The remaining 23 stations are expected to be covered within the next 10 to 15 days. The government aims to enforce the policy citywide by the end of April.
To implement the ban, ANPR cameras are being used to scan vehicle number plates and retrieve registration data to determine the vehicle’s age. These systems will also verify whether the vehicle holds a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. If a vehicle is identified as overage or non-compliant, an alert will be sent to fuel station staff, who will then deny refuelling. “Our goal is total enforcement. We don’t want a situation where the system works at some pumps and not at others. Once every station is ready, we will launch the initiative across the city,” Sirsa had said earlier.
Sirsa also acknowledged that although the delay was unfortunate, it was necessary. “The government worked hard to meet the original deadline, but it was better to delay slightly than to proceed with partial implementation,” he said.
The initiative follows a 2018 Supreme Court order banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. It also aligns with a 2014 NGT directive prohibiting the parking of such vehicles in public areas.