NEW DELHI: Delhi has 128 entry points for incoming vehicles, with 80% of commercial vehicles entering through just 13 of them. However, a yet-to-be-tabled Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report observed that enforcement teams were deployed at only seven entry points.
In addition to a shortage of staff, enforcement teams lacked vehicle-mounted PUC equipment to check visibly polluting vehicles. As a result, entry points remained inadequately monitored, reflecting a weak enforcement regime.
The absence of input data on location-wise vehicular load further contributed to the suboptimal deployment of the already under-equipped teams. As of December 2021, the government’s response was still awaited.
As of January 2021, the Enforcement Branch operated with just 292 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 819. Notably, this sanctioned strength was set in 2008 when Delhi had around 51 lakh registered vehicles, compared to approximately 130 lakh as of March 2021.
Despite the acute staff shortage, 43 enforcement personnel—including 6 inspectors, 9 sub-inspectors, 13 assistant sub-inspectors, and 15 head constables—had been reassigned to other branches or wings of the Department of Transport (DoT).
In January 2020, the DoT assessed the need for an additional 1,134 personnel to enable round-the-clock deployment at 25 major entry points and 33 locations within Delhi. However, as of September 2021, the matter was still under process. While acknowledging the shortage of manpower, the DoT stated in November 2021 that 56 teams had been deployed across various parts of Delhi.
Performance audit on prevention and mitigation of Vehicular air pollution: Slow growth in EV adoption
An audit examining data on electric vehicle (EV) registrations from August 2019 to August 2021—covering one year before and after the introduction of Delhi’s EV policy—revealed a negligible increase in EV adoption.In December 2019, EVs accounted for only 5.87% of new vehicle registrations, a level that was only slightly surpassed in August 2021.
The highest number of EV registrations (2,763) was recorded in November 2019. As of September 2021, only 1.17 lakh EVs had been registered in Delhi, indicating that the policy had yet to significantly impact the ratio of EVs to total vehicle registrations.
Uneven distribution of charging stations: Out of 72 public charging stations, 61% (44 stations) were concentrated in New Delhi and Central Delhi, while 24% were in South West Delhi, 10% in South Delhi, 4% in East Delhi, and just 1% in West Delhi. North, North West, and North