Delhi's old car no fuel policy to kick in soon, most fuel stations get cameras to scan vehicles

New Delhi: With 477 fuel refilling stations in Delhi equipped with a system to detect the age of vehicles, the government was just 23 installations away from rolling out the 'no fuel for overage vehicles' policy to curb air pollution.

As of now, 372 petrol pumps and 105 CNG refilling stations have been fitted with the device and the rest would be brought on board within the next 10 to 15 days, a senior official from the environment department told PTI.

He said the government expects to implement the system by the end of April.

The Delhi government initially planned to implement the policy on April 1 but missed the deadline as the devices had not been installed at all locations.

"We have completed device installation at 477 fuel refilling stations and only 23 are left. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa are closely monitoring the process. A full rollout will happen by the end of this month," the environment department official added.

Earlier, Sirsa underlined that the government was trying hard to get the process completed on time, but added that it was better to delay the rollout slightly than to proceed with only partial implementation.

In March, the Delhi government unveiled its plans that fuel pumps in the national capital will not provide petrol and diesel to vehicles older than 15 and 10 years, respectively. The city has 500 fuel refilling stations.

The move aims to curb vehicular emissions and put a check on air pollution in the city which remains a persistent challenge for the residents.

To implement the 'no fuel for overage vehicles' policy, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras were being installed at fuel stations that will identify the age of vehicles based on their registration year.

These cameras will also detect whether a vehicle has a valid pollution under control (PUC) certificate. If a vehicle is flagged as overage or non-compliant with pollution norms, petrol pump attendants will be alerted and fuel refilling will be denied.

"Our aim is to ensure total enforcement. We don't want a situation where it's working at some pumps and not at others. Once every station is equipped, we will launch the initiative citywide," Sirsa had said.

The government's decision aligns with a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. A 2014 National Green Tribunal order prohibits parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public areas.

In 2024, the Delhi government issued detailed guidelines for handling end-of-life vehicles, stating that such vehicles could only be released from impoundment if owners either shifted them to private premises or registered them in another state after taking necessary approvals.