Will approach SC on ELV refuelling ban in Delhi, says CM Rekha Gupta

Speaking on the sidelines of a government event, CM Rekha Gupta on Sunday blamed the previous government for taking “little action to control pollution”

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said the Delhi government will approach the Supreme Court to seek relief on the ban on refuelling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in Delhi, citing enforcement difficulties with ban restricted to Delhi and seeking that Delhi should have same parameters and regulations on ELVs as are enforced all over the country.

CM Gupta said the government will make “all-out efforts” to resolve issues related to restricting ELVs on city roads. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

To be sure, 10-year-old diesel vehicles and 15-year-old petrol vehicles will still be considered ELVs and illegal on Delhi roads, based on a 2018 Supreme Court judgement and a 2014 National Green Tribunal order that prohibited the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public spaces.

Speaking on the sidelines of a government event, CM Gupta on Sunday blamed the previous government for taking “little action to control pollution”, which, she said, prompted the courts to take harsh measures. “We have been worried about the people of Delhi since the order to ban fuel to end-of-life vehicles was issued by CAQM. The previous governments never did anything to control pollution in Delhi, and courts kept reprimanding them. The NGT and court had to finally intervene to give such harsh orders,” Gupta said.

On July 3, two days after initiating a drive to deny fuel for such vehicles in the Capital, the Delhi government made a swift U-turn. In a letter to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa asked the commission to place on hold the enforcement against ELVs.

The CAQM has not yet responded to the letter. The CAQM did not respond to requests for comment either.

Citing the communique from the environment minister, CM Gupta said: “The previous government did not make enough preparation in terms of cameras and other things.”

Saying the government will make “all-out efforts” to resolve issues related to restricting ELVs on city roads, CM Gupta said: “It would have been a different situation if the order was enforced all over Delhi-NCR. If we don’t give petrol in Delhi and NCR keeps providing them fuel, it is not possible. The government will echo the sentiments of the people before the Supreme Court.”

“We will go before the SC and present the request made by the people of Delhi. We will tell the Supreme Court about the pollution control measures taken by the government in the last four months. The parameters that are applicable in the entire country should also apply to Delhi. We want Delhiites not to face any inconvenience,” she said.

“Delhi should have the same parameters and regulations as are enforced all over the country... We will approach all agencies to revise this decision to provide relief to the people of Delhi,” she said.

Delhi’s environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa confirmed the development, stating the government had taken the LG’s suggestions on board. “Of the five suggestions made by the LG, one of which was approaching CAQM, we have already done that. The remaining four suggestions will also be followed,” he said.

Sirsa added that since the policy was introduced, over 80,000 vehicles have been scrapped in Delhi.

On July 5, lieutenant governor VK Saxena wrote to CM Gupta, urging the government to take up the matter with the CAQM for reconsideration and keeping the directions in abeyance till the entire NCR is prepared to enforce the ban. The LG also urged the CM to send a communication to the ministry of roads and highways (MoRTH), highlighting regulatory challenges and the rationale for a fresh look, and to file a review petition before the Supreme Court apprising it of the range of initiatives taken by the government in recent past and the changed circumstances for reconsideration of end-of-life vehicles concerning Delhi-NCR.

Although the enforcement has stopped on the ground, the ban on such vehicles continues to remain in force. On April 23, CAQM issued directions seeking the liquidation of all ELVs in NCR in a phased manner. The order set a deadline for denying fuel in Delhi from July 1. For five high-vehicle-density (HVD) cities in NCR, namely Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat, the ban is to come into effect on November 1, and for the rest of NCR, the deadline is April 1, 2026.