The Delhi government has rolled back a contentious order denying fuel to ‘end of life’ cars – the term for petrol vehicles registered over 15 years ago and diesel vehicles more than 10 years.
Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa told reporters a fuel ban such as this is difficult to enforce, and that the government is working out a system to seize polluting and poorly-maintained vehicles instead of punishing people who take care of their cars.
The Commission of Air Quality Management order, which came into effect July 1, was meant to curb vehicular pollution in the national capital, where people labour under a blanket of toxic smog during the winter months and suffer through poor air quality for the rest of the year.
Over 60 lakh vehicles – cars, two-wheelers, trucks, and vintage automobiles – were affected by the CAQM order, which acted based on data stating vehicles are among Delhi’s top polluters.
‘End of life’ vehicles, or ELVs, were to have been identified by cameras that have been set up across the 498 fuel stations in the national capital region. These cameras are linked to a central database that cross-verifies number plates and alerts the fuel operator about the ELV status.
All ELVs were to have been scrapped under the now-rolled back law.
The ‘no fuel’ order triggered furious reactions from people whose cars and/or bikes may be older than the prescribed limit but are still running efficiently and at minimum levels of pollution, and have the Pollution Under Control Certificate, or PUCC, mandated by the government.
