Delhi Old Vehicle Ban: Residents of Delhi operating old petrol or diesel cars will be dealt with an iron hand from 1st July. All end-of-life vehicles spotted on the road or at fuel stations will be impounded. The Air Quality Management Commission has stated firmly that such vehicles will no longer be supplied with fuel, and their owners will be fined. The step is being taken to combat the increasing pollution issue in Delhi.

Heavy Fines for Vehicle Owners

If an EOL four-wheeler is caught, the owner will have to pay a fine of ₹10,000. In the case of two-wheelers, the fine is ₹5,000 along with towing and parking charges. The government will also require an undertaking from owners, promising they will not park or use these vehicles on public roads and will remove them from Delhi’s limits.

Vehicles Covered Under This Rule

Any petrol car that is more than 15 years old and diesel car that is more than 10 years old will be considered an end-of-life vehicle. In Delhi alone, there are approximately 62 lakh such vehicles registered, of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers.

How ANPR Cameras Will Monitor Vehicles

In order to implement this regulation, around 500 petrol pumps in Delhi have provided Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Whenever a car arrives at a filling station to fill up, these cameras will immediately scan the number plate against the central VAHAN database. In case it is identified as an EOL vehicle, a message will notify the filling station personnel to deny fuel and report to the enforcement team. The details of the offence will be sent to authorities, who can then seize or scrap the car.

What Happens After Seizure

When enforcement officers spot an EOL vehicle parked on a public road or place, they will take it into custody and deliver it to a registered vehicle scrapping facility (RVSF). If the vehicle’s owner wishes to shift the vehicle out of Delhi, they will have to make a no-objection certificate application within a year of the vehicle’s expiration date.

Expansion to NCR Districts

Delhi’s strict measures will expand to NCR regions like Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Sonipat. These districts will start implementing the same ANPR camera process from November 1. The setup at their fuel stations will finish by October 31.

Timeline for Complete Rollout

The NCR districts have until March 31, 2026, to complete the installation of ANPR cameras. From April 1, 2026, no fuel will be provided for EOL vehicles here as well. Around 44 lakh EOL vehicles currently exist in NCR districts.