by Pankaj Yadav

NEW DELHI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 6,114,728 vehicles, including goods carriers, private cars and two-wheelers, would be denied fuel at petrol and diesel stations across Delhi amid a stringent anti-air pollution drive implemented in the Indian capital with effect from Tuesday (July 1), said an official from the local transport department.

Delhi was among the worst-polluted capital cities across the world, with air pollution reaching hazardous levels of 1,000 in terms of Air Quality Index (AQI), particularly during winter months. Old vehicles operating on petrol and diesel were often considered a major contributor to air pollution here.

Under the fuel ban, petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years will be stopped from refueling and immediately impounded by the enforcement agencies. Over 4 million of these vehicles were said to be two-wheelers.

Vintage vehicles or those with special permits and vehicles operating on compressed natural gas will be exempted from the fuel ban.

Dedicated teams of personnel from the Delhi police, the traffic police, local transport department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be deployed at the fuel stations to check the end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and impound them, said the official.

The ELVs will be identified by automatic number plate recognition cameras installed at nearly 500 fuel stations across Delhi.

Integrated with a local database for vehicle registration, called VAHAN, these cameras will cross-verify the vehicles' number plates and alert the fuel station operator. Details of such vehicles will also be shared with the enforcement agencies for impounding and scrapping them.

The fuel ban followed orders issued earlier this year by the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas, clearly mandating that the ELVs be denied fuel in Delhi with effect from July 1, 2025.

As part of a phased plan, a similar ban will be implemented in five high vehicle density districts in Delhi's areas, including Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat, from November this year.

The rest of the National Capital Region will come under the fuel ban from April next year, according to the order. Enditem