Delhi fuel ban on end-of-life vehicles extended to entire NCR, implementation delayed; check dates

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday extended the timeline for implementing a ban on fuelling end-of-life (EoL) vehicles in Delhi and adjoining districts, following concerns raised by the Delhi government over technological and operational challenges.

In its 24th meeting held on Tuesday, the CAQM decided that the ban will now be enforced from November 1, 2025, in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and five adjoining high vehicle density districts – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat.

The rest of the National Capital Region (NCR) will implement the ban from April 1, 2026.

The decision follows a request from the Delhi government to defer implementation of the April 23 direction, which mandated the denial of fuel to deregistered vehicles that have crossed their legal age limit.

Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the city government faced technological hurdles in executing the order.

"We strongly urge the Commission to put the implementation of its direction on hold with immediate effect till the ANPR system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR," Sirsa wrote in his letter to the CAQM, referring to the automated number plate recognition system used to identify overage vehicles.

Sirsa said the ANPR system faced issues such as camera placement, technological glitches, and lack of integration with databases of neighbouring states, preventing accurate identification of vehicles without high-security registration plates.

The minister also warned that stage-wise implementation of the fuel ban in Delhi alone would be ineffective as vehicle owners could circumvent it by refuelling in neighbouring NCR cities, potentially fostering an illegal cross-border fuel market.

The transport department and traffic police have been impounding end-of-life vehicles found refuelling since July 1, after the Delhi government enforced a court-mandated ban.

However, the government argued that the denial of fuel based solely on vehicle age, without considering emission performance or fitness, was unfair to citizens and not in line with the broader legislative spirit of the Motor Vehicles Act.

“All EoL vehicles identified through the ANPR cameras system or other such systems installed at the fuel pump stations shall be denied fueling w.e.f. 01.11.2025 in the NCT of Delhi and 5 high vehicle density districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat and w.e.f. 01.04.2026 in the rest of NCR.” CAQM said in its partially amended clause.

“Immediate legal action should be taken in respect of such EoL vehicles, including impounding and further disposal in accordance with RVSF Rules, 2021 and other extant policies of the respective State Governments and the GNCTD.”

India’s top environmental court, the National Green Tribunal, had earlier banned the operation of overage vehicles to curb air pollution in Delhi, which ranks among the world’s most polluted cities.