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Almost a third of all vehicles registered in Delhi run the risk of being impounded after the Supreme Court on Monday decreed that petrol vehicles of over 15 years and diesel vehicles of over 10 years will have to stop plying in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
According to the Delhi government’s vehicle registration data, there were over 1.10 crore vehicles in the National Capital Territory of Delhi till September. Of these, nearly 67.68 lakh petrol vehicles are less than 15 years old and 5.24 lakh diesel vehicles are less than 10 years old.
“The Delhi Transport Department started de-registering older vehicles after the 2015 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order. We have already struck 2 lakh vehicles off the registry. We estimate that among the older vehicles, 90,000 have registered as commercial vehicles, most of which no longer ply in Delhi,” a Delhi government official told BusinessLine .
The Delhi government has also started the process of impounding old vehicles following a similar decision by the NGT. “From October 5, we have impounded 165 such cars till now. Some 14,000 challans have been issued to polluting vehicles,” the official added.
Fiat to CPCB
As pollution levels worsened in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court on Monday said these polluting vehicles have to be impounded or seized to ensure that they stop plying on the roads. The apex court also directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to publish a list of these vehicle numbers in the public domain. It should create a social media account to which citizens can complain about pollution, the court ordered.
“The list of older vehicles will be published before the next hearing on Thursday,” the official said.
The NCR includes Delhi, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, according to NCR Planning Board. It includes several cities such as Faridabad, Gurugram, Greater Noida and Noida. Now, authorities of these adjoining cities will also have to seize such vehicles.
On Monday evening, CPCB officials discussed ways to improve Delhi’s air quality. Delhi Transport Department officials met to discuss how to implement the apex court directive.
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), schemes for scrapping vehicles should first be introduced at the national level. SIAM had in principle agreed for a national scheme, which is still pending with the government..
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