As there is no letup in worsening air pollution in Delhi and its neighbouring region as the air quality index here remains in the ‘very poor’ category for the past 13 days, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed to launch actions to remove highly polluting end-of-life (EoL) vehicles (petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years) still reported to be plying in Delhi.

The National Capital Region (NCR) still has over one 1.06 Crore ‘overage’ vehicles (End of Life (EoL) running on the roads illegally and adding to the pollution. Of them, only 26,064 vehicles have been seized in 2023 and 6011 till September 2024.

In Delhi, the transport sector is the most significant contributor at 15.496 per cent, as per the Decision Support System data by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). The PM2.5 concentration is currently 40.4 times the World Health Organization (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline value.

Data shows there are 60,14,493 such vehicles in Delhi.  Of them, only 24,706 have been impounded so far. A survey by the Delhi government in October estimates there are 15,0000-2,00000 EoL vehicles still on roads. An estimated 1.1 million vehicles enter and exit Delhi daily, further worsening the air quality. The traffic congestion caused by this vehicle influx also intensifies pollution, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx), which account for 81 per cent of NOx pollution in Delhi. Data shows that during peak traffic hours (5 pm - 9 pm), when average traffic speed drops to 15 km/h, NO2 levels are 2.3 times higher than noon levels (12 pm - 4 pm) when traffic speed averages 21 km/h.

These congestion-related emissions worsen air quality, especially during winter when inversion layers trap pollutants close to the ground. According to the Ministry of Road and Transport, Haryana has over 27.50 lakh while Uttar Pradesh has over 12.38 lakh such vehicles.  Rajasthan has 6.06 lakh such vehicles.

Transport department Officials  said that there are a large number of EoL vehicles plying on the roads, causing traffic snarls here. In an order to Delhi, the Commission has directed that EoL vehicles should be denied fuel at petrol pumps and more importantly, immediate legal action should be taken against such vehicles, including impounding and further disposal in accordance with RVSF Rules, 2021 and other extant policies of the respective State Governments and the GNCT Delhi.

“As a deterrent measure, all such EOL vehicles are identified through the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems at petrol pumps. Delhi has piloted one such innovative and effective solution which envisages Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera systems which are in the process of being installed at all 500+ fueling stations in the capital city”.

“These cameras, besides capturing and displaying the registration details o[ all the vehicles that enter the premises of the fueling station, also have a provision of integration with VAHAN database and thus the status of “EoL” vehicles or vehicles without valid Pollution Under Control Certificate “PUCC” can be readily captured by the system. The system further has a provision for an audio message which is relayed in respect of such non-compliant vehicles entering the premises of the fueling station,” it said.

“In view of the high polluting nature of EoL vehicles and considering that such a large fleet, while de-registered, is still reported to be plying, NCR States / GNCT of Delhi, there is an urgent need to launch / intensify drives against such vehicles. While much more intensified “on-road” drives should be taken up to guard against such overage vehicles plying on roads or parked in public spaces, suitable technological interventions and intelligent solutions also need to be employed towards identification / detection of such EoL vehicles still running in the NCR,’ it said.

It further said that the NCR States may consider to study and adopt the technological systems like the one developed by the NCT of Delhi viz., installation of ANPR Camera systems at fuelling stations.  “Traffic surveillance cameras installed on major roads which facilitate traffic police to challan vehicles for traffic violations, may also be used for supplementing action against EoL vehicles found plying on roads. The Integrated Command and Control Centres for traffic management in some cities could also help identification of EOL vehicles, using camera feeds from strategic traffic points/ intersections,” it said.

According to traffic police, it has issued over 2.70 lakh challans to vehicle owners for driving without a pollution under control (PUC) certificate between January 1 and October 31 this year, the highest in three years. A total of 2,78,772 challans were issued for PUC violations till October 31 this year, compared to 2,32,885 in 2023 and 1,64,638 in 2022 during the period under review, the data showed. The police also seized 3,908 end-of-life petrol and diesel vehicles in 2024, compared to 528 last year and 1,147 in 2022. A fine of Rs 10,000 is imposed on motorists for not having a valid PUC certificate. The challans are processed in courts.