Delhi: Fuel Ban For End-Of-Life Vehicles Begins; 80 Impounded On Day One
According to an official from the Transport Department, 98 vehicles were captured on camera, out of which 80 were impounded- 45 by the Transport Department, 34 by the Delhi Police and one by the MCD.
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Amid high surveillance, tight security and multi-agency coordination, the fuel ban on overage vehicles kicked in Delhi on Tuesday with 80 such vehicles being impounded, officials said.
Petrol pumps across Delhi have been asked not to provide fuel to end-of-life (EoL) vehicles starting Tuesday under the directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), with the Transport Department along with the Delhi Police and traffic personnel putting in place a detailed enforcement strategy to ensure strict compliance.
According to an official from the Transport Department, 98 vehicles were captured on camera, out of which 80 were impounded -- 45 by the Transport Department, 34 by the Delhi Police and one by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Petrol pumps either did not receive overage vehicles or they shared that there was not much of an issue on the first day. The Transport Department has chalked out a detailed deployment plan involving personnel from its organisation, Delhi Police, Traffic Police and the MCD.
Stations like Sai Ram Filling Station in Sector 11, Rohini; IOCL Karun Filling Station in Sector 11, Rohini; and the IOCL outlet at Ground Floor, Sector 24, Rohini confirmed that no overage vehicles approached for fuel.
At the petrol pump near Bhai Veer Singh Marg in Lutyens' Delhi, a policeman said two vehicles were impounded.
"The owners did ask us to let the vehicles go but there was not much resistance. The procedures were followed as required and the matter was handled without any disruption," he said.
In Moti Bagh, a pump attendant at the IOCL station said all arrangements were in place with the deployment of officers and placement of a banner informing customers about the ban.
"We have received full training from the pump head. Staff were clearly told not to fuel overage vehicles. The process was being followed strictly and police were helping handle any issues smoothly," said an employee.
At the Dhaula Kuan HP station, while there was no police presence, an employee said if an EoL vehicle was arriving, it would be denied fuel immediately.
"The pump serves high-profile customers, so there were no arguments or resistance," he said, adding the staff had been instructed in advance and the government was helpful throughout the process.
According to police, 24 vehicles were impounded from the commencement of the drive from 6 am till 1 pm.
Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary told PTI, "The main objective of this drive is to make the environment of Delhi better and reduce the pollution. This is an ongoing drive and from November 1, areas around Delhi will also implement this policy of not giving fuels to ELVs (end-of-life vehicles)." He said the owners of ELVs can retrieve their vehicles from the scrappers in 15 days.
However, they will have to pay a fine and get the vehicle registered outside Delhi (where such vehicles are allowed) after getting an NOC from the Transport Department, he explained.
"Special Automatic Number Plate Reader cameras have been installed at the petrol pumps for the detection of ELVs. We appeal to the people of Delhi not to use ELVs and take steps that will help in reducing the pollution of Delhi," he said.
There were some technical glitches too as the cameras wrongly detected a valid vehicle as an overage vehicle.
At a petrol pump on Pusa Road, a Hyundai I-10 petrol car came and the speaker started announcing that it was an overage vehicle.
"However, when the registration certificate of the vehicle was checked, it was found to be valid up to March 29, 2028. The police officials at the station were informed and after checking the documents, the car was allowed to go," said a petrol pump attendant.
At the BPCL Vaibhav filling station in west Delhi's Vikas Puri, an overage vehicle came for filling petrol but ended up getting CNG after being informed about the fuel ban.
"We have clearly displayed banners stating that overage vehicles will not be refuelled. However, around 4.30 am today, one such car arrived. While we refused to provide petrol, the driver went ahead and filled CNG instead," Vaibhav, owner of the fuel pump, said.
According to officials, overage vehicles running on CNG are exempt from action.
A 2018 Supreme Court judgment had banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. A 2014 National Green Tribunal order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public places.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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