To implement the Delhi government's decision regarding fuel denial for older vehicles, petrol bunks throughout the city will start using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras from April 1.

According to the NGT's directive, this restriction affects petrol vehicles that are over 15 years old and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa stated on Friday, "In our effort to decrease vehicular pollution, we are installing devices at fuel stations across the city to detect such vehicles, which will be denied fuel." He further described that the cameras capture and digitalize number plates instantly.

Delhi has almost 500 petrol stations, and ANPR technology is already operational at about 80 percent of these locations. Sirsa noted that when an older vehicle seeks to refuel, the system will recognize it as a defaulter. This technology is linked to a central database that verifies offenders based on their registration numbers, accessing information from the government's Vahan portal.

 

As of last September, the Delhi government had deregistered over 5.9 million vehicles of this category, with two-wheelers constituting the majority. Nevertheless, numerous such vehicles are still flouting NGT's regulations and remain on the roads.

The effort to remove older vehicles commenced in March 2021. Sirsa emphasized, "We take the issue of vehicular pollution very seriously, and this initiative is part of that commitment."

 

The 'Guidelines for Handling End-of-Life Vehicles in Public Places of Delhi, 2024', which will be effective from Tuesday, indicate that when an enforcement agency impounds an older vehicle, it can only be released if the owner agrees to acquire a no-objection certificate (NOC) and registers the vehicle in another state outside the NCR or stores it in private premises. A fee of Rs 10,000 for cars and Rs 5,000 for two-wheelers, along with a pledge from the owner, is necessary for release. If the vehicle is discovered on the road again...

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Officials clarified that if an impounded vehicle is registered in another state, the owner must provide a valid reason for its presence in Delhi. Repeated offenses will lead to the vehicle being scrapped.