New Delhi (India), July 1 : Delhi has implemented a ban on fuel supply for end-of-life vehicles, effective July 1, as part of efforts to curb vehicular pollution and improve air quality.
According to Special CP Traffic Management, Delhi Police, Ajay Chaudhary, the traffic police have seized 16 vehicles at various petrol pumps for violating the ban in compliance with the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders.
"We are following the orders of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), from today, 10-15 year old vehicles will not get diesel and petrol from any petrol pump... Traffic police have seized 16 vehicles at various petrol pumps...most of them are motorcycles,...due to more awareness in the media, advertisements, many people were aware and therefore fewer vehicles were coming, and people are contemplating how to move these vehicles away from Delhi," said Chaudhary.
From Tuesday, July 1, diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are prohibited from refueling in Delhi, regardless of their registration state.
Non-compliance by fuel station operators may attract penalties under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Vehicles violating the ban will be impounded, and their owners will face legal action.
Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems have been installed at fuel stations to identify end-of-life vehicles in real-time and capture their registration details.
"At every petrol pump, ANPR cameras have been installed by the Transport Department, and announcement systems have been placed as well. As soon as a vehicle reaches, the camera captures the image of the vehicle and announces that the vehicle is end-of-life and shouldn't be given fuel. Then, Transport and Delhi Traffic Police teams seize the vehicles and hand them over to the scrapping point. Everyone should cooperate in the drive to improve the air quality of Delhi." Chaudhary explained.
The ban aims to reduce particulate pollution, with end-of-life vehicles contributing significantly to Delhi's air pollution. The Transport Department and Traffic Police will work together to ensure strict compliance and handle any conflicts arising from the ban.
Fuel stations will display signage indicating the ban on fuel supply to end-of-life vehicles and maintain a log of denied transactions for reporting to the Transport Department
The drive will be in practice until further notice, and from November 1, it will also be implemented in neighbouring districts.
Chaudhary further added, "The drive aims to improve the air quality of Delhi, which has been a major concern for the city. To enforce the ban, the traffic police have installed cameras at multiple petrol pumps. The most important aspect of this drive has been started to improve the air quality of Delhi. The purpose of all stakeholders is that by the time October and November months arrive, because vehicular pollution contributes significantly to damaging the air quality, everyone wants to improve the air quality, so this drive will be in practice. Like I have said, from 1st November, this will be practised in neighbouring districts as well, where 10-15-year-old vehicles shouldn't be given fuel.
Chaudhary appealed to the public to cooperate with the initiative, saying, "Everyone should cooperate in the drive to improve the air quality of Delhi."
According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), this enforcement will extend to Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat from November 1, while the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR) will implement the restriction from April 1, 2026.
CAQM's member, Dr Virendra Sharma, said that ANPR cameras have been installed at 500 fuel stations across Delhi, enabling real-time recording and tracking of vehicle data. To date, 3.63 crore vehicles have been screened through this system, of which 4.90 lakh vehicles have been identified as End-of-Life (EoL).
He added that 29.52 lakh vehicles have renewed their Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC), resulting in the generation of challans amounting to Rs 168 crores.
To strengthen enforcement, 100 dedicated teams from the Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, are actively monitoring vehicle data to identify fuel stations with the highest number of EoL vehicles and ensure targeted compliance action.
Dr Sharma said, "It is very important to remove old BS standard vehicles to clean the air of Delhi and NCR. These vehicles play a big role in air pollution. Now that a transparent, digital and accountable system is in place, it will also be used at toll centres to make this system more effective. About 100 enforcement teams will work for this."