No petrol or diesel for overage vehicles in Delhi, NCR region from today

In an effort to curb air pollution, the Delhi government has enforced a fuel ban for end-of-life (EoL) or overage vehicles, that is, petrol vehicles aged 15 years or older and diesel vehicles aged 10 years or older, starting July 1.

This is according to the directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), with the transport department along with the Delhi Police and traffic personnel.

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Vehicular pollution

Vehicles are the top polluters in the national capital Delhi, accounting for more than half (51 per cent) of the pollution from all local emission sources, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), released in November 2024.

Keeping this in mind, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued Statutory Direction No 89, enforcing stringent measures against end-of-life vehicles of all types (goods carrier, commercial, vintage, two-wheelers) across the NCR.

This move will affect around 62 lakh vehicles (61,14,728) in Delhi alone. There are 27.5 lakh overaged vehicles (as of March 2025) in Haryana, 12.69 lakh in Uttar Pradesh and 6.2 lakh in Rajasthan.

Deployment plan

A detailed deployment plan has been chalked out by the transport department involving its personnel from the organisation along with Delhi Police, traffic police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Delhi Police personnel will be deployed in fuel stations numbered 1 to 100, while the transport department will mobilise 59 exclusive teams across fuel stations numbered 101 to 159.

One traffic police officer will be stationed at each of the 350 identified petrol pumps to monitor and prevent the refuelling of old vehicles.

Two additional police personnel will be deployed at each petrol pump to maintain law and order during the enforcement drive.

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Automated monitoring

End-of-life vehicles will be identified by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, which have been installed at 498 fuel stations.

The cameras, integrated with the VAHAN database, will cross-verify number plates and alert the fuel station operator.

The traffic personnel will have the power to impound the vehicles or issue a challan to the owner of EoL vehicle.

This vehicle details will also be shared with enforcement agencies for impounding and scrapping of old vehicles.

Penalties for violations

According to the SOP, fuel stations must reportedly display a signage stating "Fuel will not be dispensed to End of Life Vehicles — i.e. 15 years old Petrol and CNG and 10 years old Diesel 01.07.2025."

Petrol stations are advised to train their staff on the CAQM regulations and compliance procedures for denying fuel to the EoL vehicles.

Fuel stations that violate these norms will be reported weekly to the CAQM and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for further action, with penalties on the fuel station operators under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

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Cameras track vehicles

Automated camera systems will work at the fueling stations to capture and display the registration details of the vehicle in real time.

The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) has been tasked with ensuring the effective functioning of these Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems.

Earlier in 2018, the Supreme Court banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi.

A 2014 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public places.