New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday announced that its order of denying fuel to end-of-life (EOL) vehicles in Delhi will now come into force on Nov 1, along with five high-vehicle-density districts of NCR.The NCR districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat were supposed to follow the no-fuel directive from Nov 1 onwards. Delhi’s date for applying the restrictions has been aligned with the NCR districts now as several people had said that implementing the policy only in Delhi in July would be a failure as car owners would go to NCR to refuel. The restrictions in the rest of NCR will be imposed from April 1, 2026.CAQM partially amended its direction 89 on Tuesday after deliberations at its meeting. The ban on fuel to EOL vehicles came into force in Delhi on July 1. However, after public outcry, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to CAQM on July 3, requesting the drive against EOL vehicles to be put on hold. He highlighted operational and technological shortcomings, including camera placements. Even chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said her govt will urge Supreme Court to allow uniform rules on overaged vehicles in the national capital, in line with the rest of the country. LG VK Saxena also asked Delhi govt on Saturday to file a review petition in Supreme Court, urging reconsideration of its 2018 order mandating deregistration of EOL vehicles.“All EOL vehicles identified through the ANPR camera system or other such systems installed at the fuel pump stations shall be denied fuelling with effect from Nov 1 in Delhi and five high-vehicle density districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat, and from April 1, 2026, in the rest of NCR,” CAQM said.CAQM stated that the amendment will allow Delhi govt some time to address technological gaps in the implementation of the ANPR system.CAQM has directed the transport departments of Delhi and NCR states to ensure proper installation and operation of the ANPR system. “The transport departments in Delhi and NCR states have also been directed to ensure that trials of the ANPR system are conducted and training of manpower is done in a timely manner. They shall also widely disseminate this direction among all stakeholders, including fuel stations, and ensure its strict compliance through effective enforcement measures,” CAQM said. It directed NCR states to inform the commission about the liquidation of the large fleet of EOL vehicles on a monthly basis.All petrol vehicles over 15 years old and diesel vehicles over 10 years old on roads are considered EOL vehicles. In 2015, NGT passed an order to ban 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR and directed their deregistration and scrapping. In 2018, Supreme Court upheld the NGT direction.On July 1, 80 EOL vehicles were seized, but this number fell to seven the next day. However, on the third day, the govt formally approached the CAQM to pause the drive.
