• Source:JND
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Delhi Vehicle Ban: The Delhi government has withheld its decision to ban fuel for end-of-life (EoL) vehicles from July 1. The rollback came after a huge backlash. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote a letter to the Commission for the Air Quality Management (CAQM) to hold the direction that mandates the denial of fuel to End-of-Life (EOL) vehicles in the capital city.

He said that the fuel ban on overage vehicles is not feasible due to technological challenges and complex systems. However, several social media posts misinterpreted it to be a withhold on the EoL vehicles in Delhi.

This led to a spread of misinformation and confusion among the Delhiites. While the fuel ban has been withheld, the ban on the use of EoL will remain intact.

The ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles was first imposed by the National Green Tribunal(NGT) in 2015 as part of efforts to address the deteriorating air quality in the national capital region.

It meant that vehicles over the age limit would not be re-registered in the NCR and hence would be banned from plying on the roads.

Delhi govt planning to change vehicle ban criteria

Since then, vehicular ban has been in effect. However, the government is indeed considering to change parameters of vehicle ban from age to pollution capacity.

Sirsa while addressing a press conference said, "We will clean the environment of Delhi and will not allow the vehicles of Delhi to be confiscated. This is the resolution of our Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta ji, towards the people of Delhi, this is her promise to the people of Delhi... It will be better if this system is implemented in the entire NCR and then it is implemented in Delhi. We are also looking for a solution that the vehicles should not be banned on the basis of age, but should be banned considering their pollution capacity".

"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. We are confident that the ongoing multi-pronged efforts of the Delhi Government will achieve substantial improvements in air quality," reads the letter.