New Delhi: Aiming to curb the entry of polluting commercial vehicles into Delhi, the Rekha Gupta government plans to prohibit the entry of all commercial vehicles that are not compliant with BS-VI from November 1, an official said on Sunday.
In addition to curbs on entry of polluting goods vehicles, the Delhi government is also gearing up to plans to stop sale of fuel to end-of-life (EoL) or over-age vehicles from July 1.
The city’s Transport department recently issued a circular clarifying that even if a commercial vehicle is carrying Delhi-bound essential commodities or providing essential services in the city it will not be allowed to enter the city after October 31 if it is not BS-VI compliant.
Bharat Stage VI or BS-VI is the most stringent emission standard set by the Indian government to regulate air pollutants from vehicles.
The Delhi government’s crackdown against polluting trucks is based on the latest direction issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), said a transport department official.
Citing CAQM’s direction number 88 to curb rising air pollution from commercial goods vehicles, the transport department said: “All transport/commercial vehicle viz. Light Goods Vehicles, Medium Goods Vehicle and Heavy Goods Vehicles -– that are not BS-VI complaint will be strictly prohibited from entering National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi from November 1, 2025.”
Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Delhi, the Forest and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa had hinted at a possible ban on sale of fuel to vehicles older than 15 years and constituted a team to identify and restrict movement of overage, polluting vehicles in the city.
The transport department has now defined EoL vehicles as those which are no longer validly registered vehicles, whether running on petrol, CNG or diesel.
These also include petrol vehicles more than 15 years old and diesel vehicles more than 10 years old.
The CAQM has also issued a direction that all EoL vehicles identified through Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras or other such devices installed at fuel pump stations would be denied fuel from July 1 in the NCT of Delhi.
The transport department has warned that fuel pump owners found supplying fuel to EoL vehicles may also face action.
(IANS)
