Cameras at Delhi pumps detect 4.9 lakh 'overaged' vehicles, 25 lakh without PUCC

New Delhi: Around 30 lakh out of 3.6 crore vehicles checked through a new system installed at fuel stations in Delhi were found without valid Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC), leading to fines worth Rs 168 crore, officials said on Friday.

Of the total, 4.9 lakh were overage or end-of-life (EOL) vehicles -- diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years -- which are highly polluting.

Following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), 500 out of 520 fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

These cameras will help stop the sale of fuel to overage vehicles from July 1 by detecting them. Once identified, the system will alert the command centre and enforcement teams from the traffic and transport departments, who may then take action, including impounding the vehicles.

"The installation of cameras began in December. Since then, 3.6 crore vehicles have been screened. Among them, 4.9 lakh were EOL vehicles, and 25.92 lakh were running without valid PUCCs. This led to fines worth Rs 168 crore," Virinder Sharma, Member (Technical), CAQM, said.

The system will be extended to five high-vehicle-density districts near Delhi – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat – starting November 1. Camera installation in these areas will be completed by October 31.

CAQM officials made it clear that the rule applies to all EOL vehicles, regardless of where they are registered in India.

"Our directions do not say that only vehicles registered in Delhi will be denied fuel. Vehicles from outside Delhi-NCR also operate here and add to pollution. Some Delhi residents are registering vehicles in other states to avoid rules, and this must be discouraged," Sharma said.

He added that EOL buses from any part of India will also be tracked through this system. Separate guidelines will be issued to limit their movement in Delhi-NCR.

To support enforcement, 100 teams made up of traffic and transport officials have been formed. Fuel stations found breaking the rules will face strict action under the law, Sharma said.

CAQM stated that Delhi alone has 62 lakh EOL vehicles, including 41 lakh two-wheelers.

The total number of EOL vehicles in the entire NCR is around 44 lakh, with most located in the five high-density districts mentioned earlier.

The ANPR system is connected to the national VAHAN database, which helps identify overage vehicles and also those without valid pollution certificates. Fuel stations are required to refuse fuel to such vehicles from the dates specified.