The Delhi government is set to restart its enforcement drive against end-of-life vehicles in the capital as soon as the current severe air pollution episode subsides, officials announced on Monday. This renewed action comes on the heels of a recent Supreme Court order that has strengthened the regulatory framework for older, more polluting vehicles in the Delhi-NCR region.
Supreme Court Paves Way for Strict Action
Last week, the Supreme Court modified its earlier interim protection granted to owners of older vehicles. The court has now allowed authorities to take regulatory and coercive action, including scrapping, against vehicles running on emission standards below BS-IV. This landmark order is expected to impact over one crore vehicles plying in Delhi-NCR.
The court's decision specifically targets 10-year-old diesel vehicles and 15-year-old petrol vehicles that fail to meet the modern BS-IV emission norms. Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Singh stated, "We will follow the court order. Officials have been asked to understand its intricacies, after which we will form an action plan." Officials believe the latest order provides a much clearer legal position, enabling them to proceed decisively.
A Campaign with Multiple Starts and Stops
Delhi's campaign against overage vehicles has seen a turbulent journey in recent years. In 2023, the transport department launched a major drive, impounding and scrapping more than 14,000 vehicles that exceeded the age limits. At the time, there was no provision for owners to retrieve their impounded vehicles.
However, the drive soon faced political and legal obstacles. In mid-2023, then Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot called the action "invasive" and claimed it lacked proper government approval, instructing officials to stop towing parked vehicles. The campaign was paused, only to be resumed later in the year following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), targeting vehicles found on public roads or spaces.
The matter reached the High Court, which ordered the conditional release of seized vehicles. Owners could reclaim them if they moved the vehicles outside Delhi-NCR or parked them on private premises. In 2024, the government once again resumed the drive, and by 2025, it announced a 'no PUCC, no fuel' directive. This rule, which prevented vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate from getting fuel, was also halted following court intervention.
Current Focus and Future Plans
Currently, a significant number of transport and enforcement personnel are deployed at petrol pumps across Delhi to ensure compliance with the active 'no PUCC, no fuel' directive. An official indicated that once this ongoing work concludes, likely within a couple of weeks, the dedicated drive against overage vehicles will resume in full force.
The Supreme Court's latest intervention is seen as a critical step in the long-standing battle against vehicular pollution in one of the world's most polluted capitals. With the legal pathway now clarified, authorities are preparing to get cracking again on a problem that directly impacts the city's toxic air quality, especially during the winter months.
