Delhi will roll out a strict enforcement drive against end-of-life vehicles – petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years – as part of a larger plan to curb vehicular pollution in the capital. Such vehicles will be impounded if found refueling at fuel stations or parked in public spaces. Owners of these vehicles will face a penalty of Rs 10,000 for four-wheelers and Rs 5,000 for two-wheelers, along with additional towing and parking charges.The move follows directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which has mandated that no fuel should be provided to EOL vehicles in Delhi, regardless of their state of registration. To support this, around 500 fuel stations across the city have been equipped with Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that can instantly identify whether a vehicle qualifies as EOL by checking its age, fuel type, and registration through the central VAHAN database.
Delhi EOL vehicle ban: How fuel stations will identify and act against EOL vehicles
When flagged, the fuel station staff will be alerted not to refuel the vehicle, and enforcement teams may immediately impound it. Owners will be required to submit an undertaking confirming that the vehicle will not be used or parked in any public place and that it will be removed from Delhi’s limits. All seized vehicles will be sent to registered vehicle scrapping facilities. In cases where owners wish to relocate their vehicle out of Delhi, they must secure a no-objection certificate within a year of the vehicle’s expiry date.
From November 1, the same mechanism will be extended to five adjoining high-vehicle-density NCR districts: Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat, with ANPR installation set for completion by October 31. Other NCR regions have until March 31, 2026, to install the systems, after which the fuel ban will be enforced from April 1, 2026. (Inputs from PTI).
