CAQM asks Supreme Court to review order shielding old vehicles in Delhi

Flagging vehicular pollution as one of the most significant contributing sectors to the generally poor air quality in Delhi-NCR, the Centre for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to review its August 12 order that ordered no coercive steps be taken against the owners 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in the national capital.

In an over 300-page affidavit filed in a plea seeking measures to curb air pollution, the CAQM said, "Vehicular pollution is one of the most significant contributing sectors to the generally poor air quality in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region). Abatement of vehicular pollution thus has been one of the main focus areas of the Commission in its deliberations with the NCR State Governments and GNCTD."  Suggesting a way forward, the CAQM said, "For controlling vehicular emissions, BS-III and below standard vehicles are required to be kept out of purview of Order dated August 12, 2025 of the Supreme Court in considering the emission potential of these vehicles in comparison to BS-VI emission standards."  It suggested that the NCR state governments and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) expeditiously notify vehicle aggregators' policies and develop a portal for monitoring and strict enforcement of the zero parking on road policy from October to January.

Among the long-term measures, the CAQM suggested the NCR state governments and the Delhi government to review and revise their electric vehicle (EV) policies to accelerate the transition of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, buses and commercial vehicles to EV with explicit timelines and implementation plans.

It recommended, "Imposition of higher Environment Protection Charges (presently only 1 per cent) on vehicles of the luxury segment, diesel cars/ SUVs of 2000 cc capacity and above, as stipulated in Order dated August 12, 2016 in Further, funds so collected may be utilised in consultation with the CAQM for abatement of air pollution in NCR."  The Commission said the deployment of the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) in Delhi and in the major urban agglomerates particularly Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonipat for smooth and improved traffic movement.

"Considering the emissions from coal-based Thermal Power Plants, henceforth, no new coal-based Thermal Power Plants should be allowed to be established within 300 kms from Delhi and beyond, if required," the Commission said.

It added the liquidation of complete legacy waste (MSW) within the targeted timelines should be done and augmentation of adequate infrastructure to handle daily fresh waste generation and also future projections.

The Commission further said while public transport buses (city buses) in Delhi have been operating on cleaner fuels, namely CNG/ E-buses, a large number of intercity bus services from the cities and towns in the NCR states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to Delhi and other areas in the NCR were still operating through diesel buses to BS-IV/ lower standards.

Giving the status, the Commission said about 3,018 intercity buses on average ply to Delhi on a daily basis from various cities in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and all of these have now been shifted completely to much cleaner BS-VI diesel/ CNG/ EV mode.

"About 2,305 such buses ply on a daily basis for the intercity bus services from the noted States to any other city in NCR other than Delhi. All these buses are now on BS-VI diesel/ CNG/ EV mode," it said, adding that with a view to combating the adverse air quality scenario during the Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi & NCR (GRAP), transport/ commercial goods vehicles having pre-BS-VI standards are being restricted under different stages of the GRAP.

It said that owing to the consistent and collaborative approach, during the period between January 1 and December 7, Delhi registered its lowest average AQI (Air Quality Index), PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in the past eight years from 2018 to 2025 (barring the periods of very low anthropogenic, industrial and commercial activities during the Covid affected year 2020, owing to lockdowns and restrictions).

"The Average AQI of Delhi has been showing improvements year on year," it said, adding that addressing the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region requires a comprehensive approach that targets the sources of emissions across various sectors.

On November 19, the top court asked the CAQM to consider directing schools in Delhi-NCR to postpone open-air sports competitions planned in November and December to "safer months" keeping in mind air pollution levels.

It said the issue of the severe air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR needed a proactive approach and the top court should hear the case to monitor the development on a monthly basis.

The direction to the CAQM was passed after senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting the bench as an amicus curiae, said that when elders are sitting in closed spaces with air purifiers on, the kids are training for sports and games competitions in an open "gas chamber".

Earlier, the top court batted for a long-term solution for air pollution in Delhi-NCR. It refused to impose year-round restrictions on all activities prohibited under GRAP -- a set of emergency measures to control pollution.

The top court asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to strictly follow the directions of the CAQM on the issue of stubble burning in the two states.