New Delhi: Starting Tuesday, the Delhi government is planning to stop the sale of petrol and diesel to end-of-life (EoL) or over-age vehicles – a move aimed at fighting vehicular emission-linked air pollution in the Capital, an official said. 

Petrol pump owners on Monday confirmed that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and other devices linked to the transport ministry’s data bank have been installed at their outlets to identify EoL vehicles.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued a direction that all EoL vehicles identified through ANPR cameras or other such devices installed at filling stations shall be denied fuel from July 1 in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

Manager of a petrol pump in Vivek Vihar, Sanjay Dedha, said, "The Delhi government has installed the system. Let’s see from tomorrow — if vehicles within that category come. We are waiting to see if the system works fine. If there are any server-related hiccups, we will physically identify old vehicles and not provide petrol or diesel to them."

“We want to augment the efforts of the government as these are good for everybody’s health,” said Dedha.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa earlier said, “Delhi will not be defined by landfills or smog. Our goal is zero waste mountains, minimum dust, and cleaner air in every neighbourhood — this is governance that acts, not waits.”

Even Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday said the government is taking concrete steps to make the national capital pollution-free and green.

“Public transportation is being rapidly converted to electric vehicles, which will not only reduce pollution but also provide Delhi residents with clean and affordable transportation,” said CM Gupta in a post on X.

To enforce the ban on the sale of fuel to EoL vehicles, AI-enabled cameras connected to the Transport Department's database have been installed at fuel stations. These cameras will read number plates, identify overage vehicles and alert petrol pump staff.

Petrol vehicles over 15 years and diesel vehicles (personal) over 10 years will be barred from buying fuel from Tuesday, said an official.

The transport department has 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 transport department has warned that fuel pump owners found supplying fuel to EoL vehicles may also face action. (IANS)