Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
In a major step to curb the vehicular pollution, petrol pumps across Delhi will not provide fuel to end of life vehicles (EoL) starting Tuesday, July 1. This is according to the directions of Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), with the Transport Department along with the Delhi Police and traffic personnel.
A detailed deployment plan has been chalked out by the transport department involving its personnel from the organisation along with Delhi Police, Traffic Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Fuel ban for end-of-life vehicles in Delhi from today
Vehicles that have exceeded the life span of 10 years for diesel vehicles and 15 years for petrol vehicles will not be fueled. One traffic police officer will be stationed at each of the 350 identified petrol pumps to monitor and prevent the refueling of such vehicles.
While MCD teams will be deployed at the fuel stations, Delhi police will also be there. Delhi Police personnel will be deployed in fuel stations numbered 1 to 100 while the Transport Department will mobilise 59 exclusive teams across fuel stations numbered 101 to 159.
The traffic personnel will have the power to impound the vehicles or issue a challan to the owner of EoL vehicle. Additionally, two police personnel will be deployed at each petrol pump to maintain law and order during the enforcement drive.
On June 17, the Delhi government issued a Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)for enforcing the ban on refueling. SOP states that all petrol pumps must maintain a log, either manual or digital, of all denied fuel transactions involving such vehicles.
According to the SOP, fuel stations must display a signage stating “Fuel will not be dispensed to End of Life Vehicles — i.e. 15 years old Petrol and CNG and 10 years old Diesel 01.07.2025.”
Petrol stations are advised to train their staff on the CAQM regulations and compliance procedures for denying fuel to the EoL vehicles.
Automated camera systems will work at the fueling stations to capture and display the registration details of the vehicle in real time. The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) has been tasked with ensuring the effective functioning of these Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems.
Fuel stations that violate these norms will be reported weekly to the CAQM and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for further action, with penalties on the fuel station operators under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Earlier in 2018 the Supreme Court banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi.
A 2014 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public places.
