Delhi govt challenges CAQM fuel ban on old vehicles, cites tech flaws

Delhi Environment Minister says overage vehicle fuel ban is unfeasible due to flawed ANPR systems and citizen discontent; High Court to hear petrol dealers' plea in September

The Delhi government has written to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), saying the fuel ban on overage vehicles is not feasible due to technological challenges and complex systems, PTI reported on Thursday.

   

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said there was discontent among people due to the move mandated by the pollution control body and that the government stood with them.

 

The Delhi government, from 1 July, began implementing the fuel ban for end-of-life vehicles, comprising diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years, irrespective of the state in which they are registered.

 

Sirsa has written to the CAQM, highlighting challenges in the implementation of the pollution body's directive.

 

“We have informed them that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that were installed are not a robust system, and there are still many challenges with them,” he said, adding: “Technical glitches, non-working sensors, and malfunctioning speakers — all these challenges are there. It has not been integrated with the NCR data yet. It is not able to identify HSRP plates.” 

 

The Delhi government has installed ANPRs at nearly 350 petrol pumps across the national capital for the detection of such vehicles.

 

“We also said that such a law has not been implemented in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and the rest of NCR till now,” Sirsa pointed out. The fuel restriction is scheduled to be expanded to five neighbouring high-vehicle-density districts — Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida), and Sonipat — from November 1.

 

Separately, a survey conducted by LocalCircles has found that 80 per cent of Delhi residents oppose the ban. While 87 per cent of two-wheeler owners oppose the fuel ban, only 44 per cent of four-wheeler owners are against it. Given that two-wheelers constitute about 70 per cent of the affected vehicles, this opposition represents a significant portion of daily commuters who rely on older bikes for transportation, the survey found.

 

Meanwhile, the Delhi transport department and traffic police have been impounding end-of-life vehicles reaching petrol pumps within city limits for refuelling after the implementation of the ban.

 

The Aam Aadmi Party has also come down heavily on the fuel ban, with former Delhi chief minister Atishi on Wednesday describing it as a “Tughlaqi farman (autocratic order)”. She claimed the move will affect citizens, particularly office-goers and senior citizens who rely on older two-wheelers for daily commutes.

 

Petrol pump owners have also opposed the move, with the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) filing a plea in the Delhi High Court challenging the fines and legal action imposed on them for supplying fuel to end-of-life vehicles. The DPDA argued that the directive imposes “the responsibility of implementing the said rule without them being necessarily equipped or authorised under any law to carry out such responsibility”. The High Court has said it will hear the case in September and has sought responses from both the CAQM and the Delhi government.

 

A 2018 Supreme Court judgment prohibits the use of diesel vehicles more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old in Delhi. Additionally, a 2014 NGT directive bans parking vehicles older than 15 years in public areas.