Why Delhi-NCR Fuel Ban On Old Vehicles Deferred Till November 1?

In a big decision, the Centre’s panel on air quality in Delhi-NCR has officially announced to put on hold the implementation of the fuel ban on end-of-life (EOL) or overage vehicles in the national capital until November 1. 

Announcing this move with a report, which has come in the backdrop of Delhi government’s decision to revoke the ban, The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) reviewed the fuel ban and decided to delay the enforcement of this ban till November. 

The report stated that the End-of-Life (EOL) vehicle ban will be implemented across the National Capital Region (NCR), covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat.

In its report, CAQM said The 24th Meeting of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) was held today, during which issue related to implementation of Direction No. 89 as flagged by GNCTD was deliberated upon.
 
Deliberating upon the reasons in the report, the panel explained- 

1. The Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system lacks the requisite robustness, with issues related to technological glitches, camera placement, working of sensors and speakers, and that the system is not yet fully integrated with the database of neighboring NCR States; furthermore, the system is unable to identify EoL vehicles in cases where there are issues related to High Security Registration Plates (HSRP), and these challenges require proper trial and error corrections prior to its implementation.

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2. Stage-wise implementation would not serve its intended purpose, as it is likely to result in vehicle owners procuring fuel from adjacent districts, thereby circumventing the ban and potentially fostering an illegal cross-border fuel market.

3. The enforcement of geographically restricted EoL thresholds in Delhi, while identical vehicles continue to operate legally in other cities across the nation, raises legitimate questions concerning legal certainty and equitable treatment under the same national statute.

In the same circular, the report stated that as per the chief secretary of the GNTCD, defining EoL status solely based on the passage of time, without factoring in crucial aspects such as vehicle fitness, actual emission performance, or usage, may not fully align with the broader legislative spirit of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and alsohighlighted the hardship to middle-class citizens and vehicle owners.

The reversal came after Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa intervened, sending a letter to the CAQM arguing that the ban was premature and unjust, particularly for middle-class families relying on older vehicles for their livelihoods. He also pointed out that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)cameras faced technical glitches, as their sensors often failed to detect older vehicles lacking High Security Registration Plates (HSRP). The ANPR system works by scanning the vehicle’s number plate and cross-referencing details such as fuel type, age, and registration through the Vahan database. However, due to faulty sensors and incomplete HSRP detection, many older vehicles went unrecognised by the system.

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