Only 7 ELVs impounded on Day 2 of crackdown

On Day One of the drive on Tuesday, enforcement teams had managed to impound 80 ELVs after identifying 98 ELVs.

Enforcement efforts in Delhi’s crackdown on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) faltered dramatically by Wednesday — the second day of the drive — with just seven vehicles impounded across the city, transport department data revealed. The drop in numbers comes after Tuesday’s relentless showdown between authorities and rogue drivers at fuel stations in the Capital.

As part of the drive to seize old vehicles at the Noida-Delhi border, the traffic police on Tuesday carried out an enforcement drive to check end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Officials said 78 ELVs were spotted on CCTV at petrol pumps on Wednesday, but only seven were seized — three each by the traffic police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and one by the transport department. As for the remaining 71, some drivers fled the fuel stations outright, while others produced valid no objection certificates (NOCs) to move their vehicles outside the National Capital Region (NCR). In a few instances, enforcement teams were not present at the fuel stations when the violations occurred.

On Day One of the drive on Tuesday, enforcement teams had managed to impound 80 ELVs after identifying 98 ELVs.

The campaign follows directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court banning petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years from operating in Delhi, citing their role in worsening air pollution. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which is monitoring enforcement, has said Delhi has 6.2 million registered ELVs. However, a senior official aware of the data said the actual number of ELVs still plying on city roads is likely closer to 600,000 — about 10% of the total cited.

According to the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2004, Delhi has 8.1 million active registered vehicles, excluding scrapped and deregistered units.

Fuel stations across the city reported a noticeable dip in sales on Wednesday, with owners saying many vehicle users appeared to be avoiding refuelling altogether.

“We observed that people generally stayed away from petrol pumps. Most locations, especially near the borders with Gurugram and Noida, saw very muted footfall,” said Nishchal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association. “It seems people were fearful of being penalised, possibly for other offences, even if they didn’t own an ELV, and chose to avoid fuel stations altogether.”

Transport minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the Delhi government is compiling a report on the ongoing ELV enforcement, which will be submitted to CAQM shortly.

“Our government is in compliance with all court directions under which we are taking action against ELVs. We will be compiling a report of all the measures we are taking,” said Singh.

Singh said the crackdown is being carried out in accordance with NGT and Supreme Court rulings, while Sirsa indicated that the government would ask CAQM to review the fuel ban mandate.

“Why should Delhi alone suffer because of the inaction of the previous government? These norms are not enforced anywhere else in the country. We are going to write to CAQM to review the decision,” Sirsa said, accusing the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to keep ELVs off the roads.

“Unlike other metro cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata or Bengaluru, such restrictions became necessary only in Delhi because of their (AAP’s) inaction. Courts kept telling them that their strategies — like odd-even — were ineffective, but they did not listen,” he said.

Sirsa added that the government is currently undertaking a number of pollution control measures, including installing anti-smog guns on high-rises, repairing roads, enforcing dust-control norms at construction sites, and clearing the Capital’s landfill sites by 2027.

But the political blame game only intensified on Wednesday, with Leader of Opposition and AAP MLA Atishi calling the fuel ban a “Tughlaqi” order, and accusing the BJP of colluding with automobile manufacturers.

“This action will force 62 lakh (6.2 million) people to buy new vehicles, and the profits will go straight to auto giants. BJP must reveal how much donation it has received from vehicle manufacturers,” Atishi said.

HT had earlier reported that CAQM, citing VAHAN data, estimated that Delhi had 6.2 million ELVs — 4.1 million two-wheelers and 1.8 million four-wheelers. However, officials clarified that this figure includes de-registered vehicles, scrapped units, and those with NOCs allowing a year’s grace to sell outside NCR.