Amid outrage, Delhi govt says end-of-life vehicles will not be impounded, urges CAQM to put policy on hold

Delhi cabinet ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Manjinder Singh Sirsa during a press conference | PTI

With widespread outrage over the fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles in the national capital, the BJP government in Delhi on Thursday put its impounding policy on hold. The move comes two days after the policy was implemented.

End-of-life vehicles refers to diesel vehicles aged over 10 years and petrol vehicles aged over over 15 years.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to the Commission of Air Quality Management to hold the Direction No. 89, mandating the denial of fuel to end-of-life vehicles in the capital city.

Amid looming public concern, Sirsa wrote, "We will not let Delhi's environment be harmed, nor will we permit the confiscation of vehicles owned by its residents."

"We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR," he added.

Sirsa pointed out that the fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles is not feasible in the city due to technological challenges and lack of integration with databases from bordering states. Sirsa also pointed out that cameras are placed properly in the ANPR system that identifies these vehicles. He also pointed out that these vehicles could get fuel from neighbouring cities like Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram, adidng that the ban should be implemented across the National Capital Region.

“Until proper systems are in place, impounding should not proceed," the minister said, adding that CAQM alone can officially decide whether the policy should be put on hold or withdrawn.

India