NEW DELHI: The central panel on air quality in Delhi-NCR has decided to delay the implementation of the fuel ban on end-of-life (EOL) or overage vehicles in Delhi till November 1, news agency PTI reported.EOL vehicles include diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. “Direction 89 to be amended. Drive against End-of-Life vehicles in Delhi will now come into force from November 1, along with 5 NCR districts,” CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) official was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI. Earlier, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had directed that such vehicles would not be allowed to get fuel in Delhi from July 1, regardless of where they were registered.Last week, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to the CAQM requesting it to hold off on the action. He called the move “premature and potentially counterproductive”, pointing to “operational and infrastructural challenges”.The CAQM reviewed the issue and decided to delay the enforcement of the directions, news agency PTI quoted sources.The drive will now be launched on November 1 across Delhi and five adjoining high-vehicle-density districts — Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat.Fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to identify EOL vehicles. The camera scans the number plate and checks the vehicle details, such as fuel type, age, and registration, through the VAHAN database.If the system finds a vehicle to be EOL, it alerts the fuel station staff not to refuel it. The violation is recorded and sent to enforcement agencies, who may then take action like impounding or scrapping the vehicle.The decision to postpone the ban followed public discontent and opposition, prompting the Delhi government to request CAQM to delay the rollout.The installation of ANPR cameras in the five neighbouring districts is expected to be completed by October 31, as per PTI report.
