Latest news with #CommissionforAirQualityManagementinNCRandAdjoiningAreas
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Ban on fuel to ‘end of life' vehicles in Delhi put on hold till November 1
The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on Tuesday deferred the ban on refuelling of overage or 'end of life' vehicles (ELVs) in Delhi to November 1. The prohibition will now come into effect in the national capital on the day it is scheduled to be enforced in the five adjoining 'high-vehicle-density' (HVD) districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Sonipat. The pollution control body had on April 23 announced a ban on the refuelling of overage vehicles — petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years — in Delhi from July 1. It had directed authorities to impound the ELVs. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa lauded the 'people-centric' decision. 'This is a big relief for thousands of citizens who were unfairly impacted. I thank the CAQM for acting swiftly on our concerns,' he said. The Minister added, 'Delhi will not tolerate selective and faulty enforcement. Unlike the previous governments that looted the city, our government is committed to protecting people's rights and dignity.' The development was also welcomed by fuel retailers and resident welfare associations (RWAs). Although the Delhi government had initially supported the directive, after facing public backlash, Mr. Sirsa had on July 3 written to the Centre's air quality monitoring panel, requesting that it put the directive on hold, as enforcing the prohibition would be 'premature and potentially counterproductive' due to 'operational and infrastructural challenges'. 'Address tech. issues' In its order, the CAQM allowed more time for the Delhi government 'to address the technological gaps in implementation of ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) system and align enforcement across the NCT of Delhi with the enforcement in five HVD districts of NCR i.e. Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Sonipat w.e.f. 01.11.2025'. The Central panel directed the transport departments of Delhi and the NCR States to conduct installation, trials, and training of the ANPR system ahead of the scheduled ban and ensure 'strict compliance [of the ban on refuelling of overage vehicles] through effective enforcement measures'. 'Have ample time' The Delhi Petrol Dealers Association said the decision by the CAQM will give retailers of the nearly 400 fuelling stations in the city ample time to implement the anti-pollution measure. 'It will allow the government to address technical issues and carry out trial runs at petrol pumps,' said Nischal Singhania, the DPDA president. Meanwhile, RWA representatives called for a relook at the definition of overage vehicles. 'Referring to private vehicles as 'overage' or 'end of life' without any pollution check does not make sense. A robust and transparent PUC (Pollution Under Control) system can keep polluting vehicles, new or old, away from the roads,' said B.S Vohra, president of the East Delhi Federation of RWAs.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
No overage vehicle seized in last 2 days amid fuel ban tussle in Delhi
A Delhi Traffic Police officer on Saturday (July 5, 2025) said 'end of life' Vehicles (ELVs) are not being impounded at fuel stations in the national capital. This comes amid the Delhi government's request to the Central government's Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) to halt the drive against overage vehicles. The pollution control body has not responded to the request yet. 'We have received orders to not impound any overage vehicle until further notice,' the traffic police officer told The Hindu. Nischal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association, said there are no government teams on the ground implementing the ban over the last two days. 'No announcements have been made over the speakers installed at the petrol pumps by the government either. Over the last few days, no vehicles have been impounded,' Mr. Singhania said, adding that the government is yet to officially convey whether the drive has been stopped or not. The CAQM had mandated that from July 1, no fuel stations would provide petrol or diesel to ELVs in Delhi. The same would apply to the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budhha Nagar and Sonipat from November 1 and to the rest of NCR from April 1. Instead, they would be impounded based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera identification. Although the Delhi government had supported the directive, after facing public backlash, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Thursday said the anti-pollution measure could not be implemented due to 'systemic challenges'.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delhi government says it won't scrap old vehicles; cites public backlash, systemic challenges
The Delhi government will clean the city's air but will not allow impounding of 'end of life' vehicles (ELVs), Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Thursday (July 3, 2025), citing public backlash and systemic challenges in implementing the anti-pollution measure. The Minister said he had written to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), requesting a hold on its directive, which had mandated fuel stations to deny petrol or diesel to ELVs starting July 1 and authorised their impounding based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera identification. 'We will clean Delhi's environment, but will not allow Delhiites' vehicles to be impounded. This is the resolution of our Chief Minister Rekha Guptaji – her promise to the people,' Mr. Sirsa said at a press conference. Ms. Gupta said her government will make 'all efforts' for the resolution of the problems related to the ban on ELVs, defined as petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. 'The pain of Delhi people is understandable... We will raise the voice of people wherever necessary,' she said at an event, adding that some people are emotionally attached to vehicles gifted by a close person, and such less-driven cars are keepsakes. 'Public outcry' An official in Mr. Sirsa's office said that the ANPR-based enforcement at fuel stations would not be implemented from Friday. However, there was no formal confirmation from the Delhi government. In his letter to CAQM, the Minister wrote, 'Due to the technological integration challenges of this extremely complex system and lack of coordination with neighbouring States, there is public discontent and outcry. Under these circumstances, it is not feasibleto implement the denial of fuel to ELVs using ANPR at petrol pumps.' He said the government was considering a solution based not on banning all overage vehicles, but on actual pollution emitted by vehicles. The CAQM, in its April 23 directive, had ordered that from July 1, ELVs detected via ANPR cameras at Delhi's fuel stations be denied fuel. The same rule was to be enforced in five NCR districts – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat – starting November 1, and across the rest of NCR from April 1, 2026. The Delhi government supported the directive. From July 1, Delhi's Transport Department and traffic police had begun impounding ELVs seen at fuel stations. According to CAQM data, Delhi has nearly 62 lakh ELVs, and the rest of NCR has about 44 lakh. The National Green Tribunal had banned ELVs across NCR in 2015. Political blame game The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has criticised the move, said the public had forced the government to reverse its move. 'The BJP government was simply hiding behind a court order. But when the people united and raised their voice, it had to withdraw. In a democracy, the people are supreme,' said AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. A similar measure was announced by then Environment Minister Gopal Rai in 2022 but never notified. Mr. Sirsa alleged that the previous AAP government took money from new car dealers and decided to install ANPR cameras to impound older vehicles.
The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Respond to petrol pump owners' plea: HC to CAQM
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government and the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) to respond to a plea against orders prosecuting and penalising petrol pump owners for non-compliance with the 'no fuel to end-of-life vehicles'. The petition filed by the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association stated that the orders failed to appreciate that petrol pump owners were 'merely private entities operating pumps under licence agreements with respective oil marketing companies, without the power or authority to perform law enforcement duties, essentially directed by State entities'. Advocates Anand Varma, Adyasha Nanda and Apoorva Pandey, representing the Association, submitted that the dealers were not opposed to the implementation of CAQM's directions, which restrict fuel supply to ELVs. 'We are aggrieved by the application of Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to petrol pump owners,' the counsel said. The Section specifies penalties for driving or allowing the use of an unregistered vehicle. The plea alleged the arbitrariness in penalising petrol pump owners for sheer inadvertence and at times, for reasons beyond their control. A petrol pump faces an average footfall of about 3,000 vehicles in a day for purchasing fuel from multiple dispensing units simultaneously and the possibility of inadvertence due to such large volume cannot be ruled out, the plea added. 'However, such inadvertence or inability on their part to comply with the rule, even for reasons beyond their control is being met with a disproportionate and unreasonable penalty of prosecution under Section 192 of Motor,' the plea said.
Indian Express
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
Light rain likely today, GRAP Stage 1 revoked as AQI moderate again
In relief from the sweltering heat, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday sounded a yellow alert in Delhi for Friday, forecasting lightning or thunderstorm as well as very light rain or drizzle. Thursday evening also saw the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) revoking Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), under which dust-mitigation measures like mechanised sweeping and regular water sprinkling need to be complied with strictly. Delhi on Thursday recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 184, in the moderate category. It was a slight improvement from Wednesday's AQI of 198, also recorded in the 'moderate' category. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 38.6 degrees Celsius, 0.7 notches below the season's average, IMD said. The minimum temperature was 26.8 degrees Celsius, 2.1 notches above the season's average. The IMD, meanwhile, forecast strong surface winds reaching up to 40 kmph for the entire week. It also forecast cloudy skies for the majority of the week, with temperatures expected to gradually drop to around 24 to 39 degrees Celsius. As per the Air Quality Early Warning System developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the AQI is likely to be in the 'moderate' category from May 2 to 4.
