The Delhi government’s decision to deny fuel to overage vehicles at refill stations which was supposed to begin today on April 1 has been delayed, officials said. The new rule has been delayed due to pending structural changes at a few fuel stations, they said.
As per the new rule, overage or end-of-life vehicles — diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years — are not allowed to ply in Delhi. The Delhi government has been seizing these vehicles and scrapping them if necessary permissions to sell them outside Delhi-NCR is not obtained or if they are parked in public areas such as roadsides.
Why has it been delayed?
The decision to stop giving them fuel is part of the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the national capital to combat air pollution.
“The reason behind delaying the implementation is that a few petrol pumps have not made the structural changes necessary to implement the policy decision. There will have to be separate areas from where old cars will exit. There has to be a clear passage for the vehicles that can get fuel. These are small changes and will be made soon. Most pumps in the city have complied,” Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa was quoted as saying by the Indian Express
Sirsa told PTI that the government was expediting the equipment installation to ensure a smooth transition.
“It is better to wait a few days and implement the project in one go than to do it in fits and starts. All pumps have to refuse fuel to old vehicles otherwise the plan will fail. It should take 10-15 more days to implement,” Sirsa said
Last month, Sirsa had announced that the End-of-Life Vehicles would be denied fuel at refill stations across the capital starting April 1.
It is better to wait a few days and implement the project in one go than to do it in fits and starts.
Air pollution has been an issue in Delhi for long and the city records dip in air quality levels between November and January. With an average PM 2.5 concentration of 91.8 μg/m3, Delhi continued to be the most polluted Capital city in the world, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report released early March
Delhi’s air quality improved and remained in the ‘moderate’ category on March 31 morning after staying in the ‘poor’ category for the past few days. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 130 at 7 am on March 31, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), compared to 140 at the same time on Sunday.
