The ban on refuelling overage vehicles in Delhi will be deferred until November 1, sources in the Commission for Air Quality Management ( CAQM) said on Tuesday.
The CAQM source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The development comes days after the BJP-led Delhi government urged the CAQM to halt the rollout of Direction No. 89, which prohibits petrol pumps from supplying fuel to vehicles older than 15 years (petrol) and 10 years (diesel), in line with previous court orders aimed at curbing pollution.
In a letter to the commission, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR.”
Sirsa added that the Delhi government will not allow confiscation of residents’ vehicles under the current circumstances.
“We will not let Delhi’s environment be harmed, nor will we permit the confiscation of vehicles owned by its residents,” he said.
The letter noted that ANPR systems installed at nearly 350 petrol pumps in the city face technological and logistical limitations. “The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system deployed at fuel stations suffers from technological glitches and improperly positioned cameras,” Sirsa said, warning that these issues raise “serious concerns about reliability.”
He further pointed out that the system is not integrated with vehicle registration databases of neighbouring NCR states, making uniform enforcement unviable. Many areas outside Delhi still lack ANPR infrastructure altogether, he noted.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta acknowledged the emotional distress the move had caused many citizens.
“Some people are emotionally attached to vehicles if they are gifted by a close person, like a father. Such vehicles are just keepsakes, and often they have not been driven many kilometres,” she had said.
The fuel supply restriction had gone into effect on July 1, with the transport department launching a citywide drive at 6 am in coordination with Delhi Police, Traffic Police, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The move was part of efforts to implement the 2018 Supreme Court order banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from operating in Delhi, as well as the 2014 NGT order banning such vehicles from being parked in public areas.
To aid enforcement, AI-powered ANPR cameras with hooter alerts were installed at hundreds of petrol pumps to flag non-compliant vehicles.
In addition to automated checks, officials from the transport department and Delhi Traffic Police were also manually verifying registrations in real time using centralised databases.
The CAQM source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The development comes days after the BJP-led Delhi government urged the CAQM to halt the rollout of Direction No. 89, which prohibits petrol pumps from supplying fuel to vehicles older than 15 years (petrol) and 10 years (diesel), in line with previous court orders aimed at curbing pollution.
In a letter to the commission, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR.”
Sirsa added that the Delhi government will not allow confiscation of residents’ vehicles under the current circumstances.
“We will not let Delhi’s environment be harmed, nor will we permit the confiscation of vehicles owned by its residents,” he said.
The letter noted that ANPR systems installed at nearly 350 petrol pumps in the city face technological and logistical limitations. “The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system deployed at fuel stations suffers from technological glitches and improperly positioned cameras,” Sirsa said, warning that these issues raise “serious concerns about reliability.”
He further pointed out that the system is not integrated with vehicle registration databases of neighbouring NCR states, making uniform enforcement unviable. Many areas outside Delhi still lack ANPR infrastructure altogether, he noted.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta acknowledged the emotional distress the move had caused many citizens.
“Some people are emotionally attached to vehicles if they are gifted by a close person, like a father. Such vehicles are just keepsakes, and often they have not been driven many kilometres,” she had said.
The fuel supply restriction had gone into effect on July 1, with the transport department launching a citywide drive at 6 am in coordination with Delhi Police, Traffic Police, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The move was part of efforts to implement the 2018 Supreme Court order banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from operating in Delhi, as well as the 2014 NGT order banning such vehicles from being parked in public areas.
To aid enforcement, AI-powered ANPR cameras with hooter alerts were installed at hundreds of petrol pumps to flag non-compliant vehicles.
In addition to automated checks, officials from the transport department and Delhi Traffic Police were also manually verifying registrations in real time using centralised databases.
You may also like
Fuel ban: Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles deferred till November 1; postpone follows public discontent
Tottenham 'line up next transfer' after Mohammed Kudus in £30m deal
Is 'bathroom camping' Gen Z's new escape? The viral mental health trend no one saw coming
Donald Trump fears pal Ghislaine Maxwell 'could finally speak about his Epstein friendship'
Amal Clooney reveals why she has strict ban on phones inside her home with George
