Attention Delhi motorists! Petrol pumps across national capital will no longer provide fuel if...

Delhi: Petrol pumps across the national capital will no longer provide fuel to end-of-life (EoL) vehicles from tomorrow, July 1, as per the latest rules by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

Personnel from the Delhi Police and the Transport Department will be stationed at fuel stations across Delhi to prevent the refuelling of vehicles that have crossed their prescribed lifespan, i.e. end-of-life vehicles.

The prescribed lifespan for diesel vehicles is 10 years, while that of petrol vehicles is 15 years.

The Commission for Air Quality Management's directions came with an aim to curb vehicular pollution in Delhi.

How the checks will be carried out

Apart from Transport Department and Delhi Police personnel, enforcement squads from the Municipal Corporation will also be present, reported ANI.

Delhi Police personnel will be deployed at fuel stations numbered 1 to 100, while the Transport Department will mobilise 59 exclusive teams across fuel stations numbered 101 to 159.

One traffic police officer will be stationed at each of the 350 identified petrol pumps to monitor and prevent the refueling of vehicles, while two additional police personnel will be responsible for maintaining law and order during the enforcement drive.

How end-of-life vehicles will be identified?

The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) has been assigned the responsibility of ensuring the smooth operation of Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems at fuel stations.

The ANPR systems will automatically capture and display the registration details of every vehicle entering the fuel station and identify End-of-Life vehicles in real time, as per the SOP released earlier by the Delhi government.

What happens to end-of-life vehicles?

During the checks, if any EoL vehicle is found at any of the petrol pumps, then such vehicles will be seized, a senior police officer told PTI.

“Our traffic personnel will ensure that the vehicle is impounded and a challan is issued to the owner of the ELVs (end-of-life vehicles),” said the police officer.

What petrol pumps are required to do

The previously released SOPs further mandate that all petrol pumps must maintain a log, either manual or digital, of all denied fuel transactions involving end-of-life vehicles.

"Maintain a log (manual or digital) of denial transactions to End of Life Vehicles for reporting on a weekly basis to the Transport Department at transport.delhi.gov.in," the SOP states.

Petrol stations have also been instructed to train their staff on CAQM regulations and the proper procedures for refusing fuel to EoL vehicles.

Non-compliance by fuel station operators may attract penalties under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

A 2018 Supreme Court judgment had 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.