The seizure of vehicles has been banned under the End-off-Life Vehicle (ELV) rule, which came into effect from 1 July in Delhi. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has written a letter to the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) regarding the practical flaws of this rule and demanded its review. He said that until the rules are applied equally in the entire NCR, it is not appropriate to implement it only in Delhi.

The Delhi government argues that implementing this rule under the present circumstances is not only challenging technically, but it is causing huge inconvenience to the public. The emphasis of the government is that the purpose of the rule should be to improve air quality, not to make a barrier in people’s everyday life.

Delhi government is developing new system: Minister

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa clarified that we are developing a new system for ‘end-of-life vehicle’, in which action will be taken on the basis of their pollution level, not the age of vehicles. Our aim is that pollution in Delhi should also be controlled and everyday needs of citizens should not be interrupted.

Implementing without preparation rules is wrong: Pravesh Verma

Minister Pravesh Verma, a minister in the Delhi government, also questioned this policy and said that the capital is already under the pressure of traffic and pollution, in such a situation, without complete preparation, these rules have become an additional burden on the public. He said that instead of the age of the vehicles, action should be taken on the basis of their pollution status. When this rule is not applicable in the NCR region like Gurugram and Noida, why was it implemented only in Delhi? ”

Government and CAQM meeting will be held soon

Pravesh Verma informed that a meeting is going to be held soon between the Delhi government and the CAQM regarding this issue. The meeting will discuss the equality of rules and practicality of implementation in the entire NCR region. He also said that it is not possible to apply AnPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technique as it has many technical and systemic problems.

High court sought answers from government and CAQM

While hearing the petition filed by the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association, the High Court has directed the Delhi government and CAQM to file a reply by September. The petition said that petrol pump dealers are being assigned the task of law enforcement agency, while they do not have this type of legal power. The petitioner’s counsel says that petrol pump dealers are not an agency to enforce the law, punitive action on them is unfair. The court also directed that if any action is taken against the dealers, then it should be brought to the notice of the court.

What is ELV rule?

According to CAQM instructions, diesel older than 10 years old and 15 years old petrol vehicles will not get fuel from 1 July 2025.

• The order will apply to Delhi-registard or external vehicles.

• However, CNG vehicles have been exempted from this.

• If a petrol pump gives fuel to these vehicles, then action will be taken against it.

• The Delhi Transport Department and the police are jointly monitoring the implementation of this order.