Cameras at Delhi pumps detect 4.9 lakh 'overaged' vehicles, 25 lakh without PUCC
Following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), 500 out of 520 fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
End of road for end-of-life vehicles from July 1: CAQM
Starting July 1, all end-of-life (EOL) vehicles will be denied fuel in Delhi and will be subject to actions such as deregistration, impounding and scrapping, the air quality watchdog announced on Friday. Around 100 teams of traffic and transport department officials will be deployed to flag down EOL vehicles and all 520 fuel stations in the city will be equipped with technology to identify such vehicles. India currently adheres to Bharat Stage VI , or BS VI, emission norms for vehicular fuels, but there are old cars that still run on BS-II and BS III standards. "The EOL policy started around 2015. The Supreme Court took notice of it in 2018 and Delhi govt began implementing the policy," said Virinder Sharma, member (technical), Commission for Air Quality Management. "However, the implementation halted when the matter was taken to the courts. Now, it's time to act, given the huge number of such vehicles in Delhi and NCR. That's why CAQM issued this directive No. 89 to end this problem." According to CAQM, there are 62 lakh EOL vehicles in Delhi, of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers. A CAQM official said that the fuel stations in the city have been equipped with automatic number plate recognition technology, enabling them to track and record vehicles through the centralised Vahan database. In 2024, 39,273 EOL vehicles were impounded in Delhi. CAQM stated that plans to install similar systems at the 156 entry points into Delhi will follow soon to prevent such vehicles from driving into the city. "Till now, 3.6 crore vehicles have been screened through this system and 4.9 lakh identified as end-of-life. In addition, 29.5 lakh vehicles have been forced to renew their pollution-under-control certificates," revealed Sharma. Sharma added that like Delhi, the rules will also apply to the high-vehicle-density cities of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat from Nov 1. This will be extended to all the NCR districts from April 1, 2026. CAQM pointed out that several studies have highlighted how overaged vehicles contributed significantly to pollution in the NCR. "BS IV vehicles have 4.5 times higher PM emissions than BS VI vehicles," the CAQM official said. As of March 2025, Haryana had 2.7 lakh EOL vehicles, UP 1.3 lakh and Rajasthan 6.2 lakh. When asked about public buses arriving from other states to designated stations in Delhi, such as Kashmere Gate or Anand Vihar ISBTs and getting refuelled at their centralised stations, officials said that a framework of action against them would be formulated soon.
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
No fuel for end-of-life vehicles in Delhi from July 1: CAQM
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): From July 1, all End-of-Life (EoL) vehicles identified through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at fuel stations across Delhi will not be allowed to refuel, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). According to the 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 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.' ANPR cameras have been installed at fuel stations to capture and read license plate numbers in real-time. As a vehicle enters the station, the ANPR system captures its license plate and instantly cross-verifies it with a centralised 'VAHAN' database containing registration details, fuel type, and the vehicle's age. If the system detects that the vehicle exceeds the permissible age limit--10 years for diesel and 15 years for petrol vehicles in Delhi--it is flagged as EoL. Once flagged, the system alerts the fuel station operator to deny refuelling, and the violation is logged and shared with enforcement agencies for further action. Further actions include impounding and scrapping the EoL vehicle. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi to enforce fuel ban on ELVs using high-tech cams from July 1
In a major crackdown on polluting vehicles, Delhi will stop selling fuel to end of life vehicles (ELVs) from July 1 and to enforce this, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed at all 520 fuel stations across the city, linked directly to the central VAHAN database to screen vehicles in real time, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced on Friday. Virinder Sharma addresses a press conference on Friday on the scanning and checking of registration numbers of vehicles arriving at petrol pumps via the ANPR system. (ANI) 'All pumps are now covered. The trial run has been on since December, and we're ready to go live,' said Virinder Sharma, technical member of CAQM. As a vehicle pulls into a fuel station, the ANPR system scans its number plate and instantly checks it against the central VAHAN database for registration details, fuel type, and age. If the vehicle exceeds the permissible limit—10 years for diesel and 15 years for petrol—it is flagged as an ELV. 'Once identified, an announcement will be made at the station, and the staff will inform the driver that fuel cannot be provided,' Sharma said. The rule will initially apply to Delhi from July 1 and to five high-traffic NCR cities—Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonepat—from November 1. Other NCR cities will follow in phases. ELV bans were first mandated by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 and reinforced by the Supreme Court in 2018, but full-scale enforcement had lagged. 'For such enforcement we realised that technology-driven realtime intervention was needed, which will now be used. The transport department started installing cameras in December 2024 and simultaneously testing of the system has also been done,' Sharma said. During the seven-month trial, 36.3 million vehicles were screened, 490,000 ELVs were flagged, and 44,000 impounded. The same system also caught vehicles with expired pollution certificates—over 2.95 million PUCs were renewed during this period. From July, 100 flying squads will support enforcement. Petrol stations flouting the rules may face action under the Motor Vehicles Act. However, the petrol pump association has written to the transport department objecting to fuel stations being penalised for violations. 'We are committed to cooperating with the roll-out of the new rules. However, we have concerns about the penal provisions linked to implementation issues, which we believe are unfair. We've written to the transport department requesting time for further discussions,' said Nishchal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association. The ban applies to all ELVs—Delhi-registered or not. Delhi alone has 6.2 million ELVs, including 4.1 million two-wheelers. Another 4.4 million are registered across NCR cities. 'The aim is to curb toxic emissions before the winter smog season,' Sharma said. He said in terms of emitting particulate matter (PM), BS4 vehicles have been found to be 4.5 times more polluting and BS3 vehicles are 11 times more polluting than BS6 vehicles. Also, BS3 vehicles cause six times more NOX than BS6 vehicles. To widen surveillance, ANPR cameras are also being installed at all 126 entry points to Delhi, said transport officials.
