Delhi government says it won’t scrap old vehicles; cites public backlash, systemic challenges

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the government was considering a solution based not on banning all overage vehicles, but on actual pollution emitted by vehicles

The Delhi government will clean the city’s air but will not allow impounding of ‘end of life’ vehicles (ELVs), Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Thursday (July 3, 2025), citing public backlash and systemic challenges in implementing the anti-pollution measure.

The Minister said he had written to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), requesting a hold on its directive, which had mandated fuel stations to deny petrol or diesel to ELVs starting July 1 and authorised their impounding based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera identification.

“We will clean Delhi’s environment, but will not allow Delhiites’ vehicles to be impounded. This is the resolution of our Chief Minister Rekha Guptaji – her promise to the people,” Mr. Sirsa said at a press conference.

Ms. Gupta said her government will make “all efforts” for the resolution of the problems related to the ban on ELVs, defined as petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years.

“The pain of Delhi people is understandable... We will raise the voice of people wherever necessary,” she said at an event, adding that some people are emotionally attached to vehicles gifted by a close person, and such less-driven cars are keepsakes.

‘Public outcry’

An official in Mr. Sirsa’s office said that the ANPR-based enforcement at fuel stations would not be implemented from Friday. However, there was no formal confirmation from the Delhi government.

In his letter to CAQM, the Minister wrote, “Due to the technological integration challenges of this extremely complex system and lack of coordination with neighbouring States, there is public discontent and outcry. Under these circumstances, it is not feasibleto implement the denial of fuel to ELVs using ANPR at petrol pumps.”

He said the government was considering a solution based not on banning all overage vehicles, but on actual pollution emitted by vehicles.

The CAQM, in its April 23 directive, had ordered that from July 1, ELVs detected via ANPR cameras at Delhi’s fuel stations be denied fuel. The same rule was to be enforced in five NCR districts – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat – starting November 1, and across the rest of NCR from April 1, 2026.

The Delhi government supported the directive. From July 1, Delhi’s Transport Department and traffic police had begun impounding ELVs seen at fuel stations. According to CAQM data, Delhi has nearly 62 lakh ELVs, and the rest of NCR has about 44 lakh. The National Green Tribunal had banned ELVs across NCR in 2015.

Political blame game

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has criticised the move, said the public had forced the government to reverse its move. “The BJP government was simply hiding behind a court order. But when the people united and raised their voice, it had to withdraw. In a democracy, the people are supreme,” said AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj.

A similar measure was announced by then Environment Minister Gopal Rai in 2022 but never notified. Mr. Sirsa alleged that the previous AAP government took money from new car dealers and decided to install ANPR cameras to impound older vehicles.