Latest news with #CAQM
Deccan Herald
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Deccan Herald
Cameras at Delhi pumps detect 4.9 lakh 'overaged' vehicles, 25 lakh without PUCC
Following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), 500 out of 520 fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
‘City ready to execute ban on refuelling of overage vehicles'
Decks have been cleared to implement the ban on the 'end of life' or overage vehicles from refuelling in Delhi from July 1, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) said on Friday. Addressing mediapersons, Virinder Sharma, a member of the CAQM, said that automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed at all 520 fuel stations in the national capital to help identify and impound overage vehicles. The National Green Tribunal had in 2015 banned overage vehicles, defined as petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years, in the NCR. For effective implementation of this prohibition, the Centre's pollution watchdog had in April this year ordered that overage vehicles, including those from other States, would not be allowed to refuel in Delhi-NCR. Ban in other NCR cities The ban will take effect from November 1 in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat. 'The ANPR cameras have been installed in the three ISBTs — Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar, and Sarai Kale Khan — to ensure that no fuel is supplied to end-of-life buses from other States coming to Delhi,' said Mr. Sharma. How the tech works Explaining the mechanism behind the technology, an official said that as soon as a vehicle enters a fuel station, the ANPR camera scans the vehicle's licence plate number and verifies the registration details, fuel type, and vehicle age with the Central government's VAHAN portal. If the vehicle is overage, the system will flag it, and an automated message will be aired through speakers installed at the fuel station. ₹168-cr. in challans In a statement, the CAQM said that a trial run of the cameras at several fuel stations was conducted in December last year. 'So far, a total of 3.63 crore vehicles have been screened using the technology, of which 4.90 lakh vehicles have been identified as overage. Additionally, 29.52 lakh vehicles have renewed their Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, resulting in the generation of challans amounting to ₹168 crore,' stated the Central agency. It added that there are about 62 lakh overage vehicles in Delhi. 'The use of ANPR cameras for detecting overage vehicles at fuel stations represents a significant shift towards technology-driven, real-time enforcement of vehicle emission regulations,' the CAQM added.
The Print
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Print
Cameras at Delhi pumps detect 4.9 lakh ‘overaged' vehicles, 25 lakh without PUCC
Following directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), 500 out of 520 fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Of the total, 4.9 lakh were overage or end-of-life (EOL) vehicles — diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years — which are highly polluting. New Delhi, Jun 20 (PTI) Around 30 lakh out of 3.6 crore vehicles checked through a new system installed at fuel stations in Delhi were found without valid Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC), leading to fines worth Rs 168 crore, officials said on Friday. These cameras will help stop the sale of fuel to overage vehicles from July 1 by detecting them. Once identified, the system will alert the command centre and enforcement teams from the traffic and transport departments, who may then take action, including impounding the vehicles. 'The installation of cameras began in December. Since then, 3.6 crore vehicles have been screened. Among them, 4.9 lakh were EOL vehicles, and 25.92 lakh were running without valid PUCCs. This led to fines worth Rs 168 crore,' Virinder Sharma, Member (Technical), CAQM, said. The system will be extended to five high-vehicle-density districts near Delhi – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat – starting November 1. Camera installation in these areas will be completed by October 31. CAQM officials made it clear that the rule applies to all EOL vehicles, regardless of where they are registered in India. 'Our directions do not say that only vehicles registered in Delhi will be denied fuel. Vehicles from outside Delhi-NCR also operate here and add to pollution. Some Delhi residents are registering vehicles in other states to avoid rules, and this must be discouraged,' Sharma said. He added that EOL buses from any part of India will also be tracked through this system. Separate guidelines will be issued to limit their movement in Delhi-NCR. To support enforcement, 100 teams made up of traffic and transport officials have been formed. Fuel stations found breaking the rules will face strict action under the law, Sharma said. CAQM stated that Delhi alone has 62 lakh EOL vehicles, including 41 lakh two-wheelers. The total number of EOL vehicles in the entire NCR is around 44 lakh, with most located in the five high-density districts mentioned earlier. The ANPR system is connected to the national VAHAN database, which helps identify overage vehicles and also those without valid pollution certificates. Fuel stations are required to refuse fuel to such vehicles from the dates specified. PTI GVS VN VN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Print
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Print
From 1 July, no fuel for end-of-life vehicles in Delhi. Cameras to keep watch at pumps
'These vehicles, which are mainly BS-IV (Bharat Stage Emission-IV) and under, cause a significant amount of pollution on Delhi's roads, and our new direction is a step towards clean mobility in Delhi,' Virinder Sharma, CAQM member (technical), said at the press conference. The statutory body said cameras had been installed to ensure the implementation of this a press briefing, the CAQM said that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras had been installed at all of Delhi's 520 fuel stations to start identifying these end-of-life (EoL) vehicles. New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Friday said all diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years shall be denied fuel in Delhi's petrol pumps from 1 July. The initial order (Direction 89) to deny fuel to end-of-life polluting vehicles by 1 July was passed by CAQM on 23 April this year. The move had been earlier announced by Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa, who said it would come into force from 31 March, but it was pushed to ensure more time to ensure fuel stations were equipped with ANPR cameras. Once these vehicles have been identified, the Delhi Traffic Police and Delhi Transport Department will work together to take 'immediate legal action' and impound the vehicles at the earliest, Sharma further added. The CAQM said the owners of these vehicles could also get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Delhi Transport Department, which will allow them to ply the vehicles anywhere but Delhi. However, fuel will not be provided to these vehicles at any fuel station in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. There are 100 enforcement teams made up of officials from the traffic police and transport departments that will manage the implementation. The information from ANPR cameras will be matched with the VAHAN Dashboard, a flagship e-governance application under the Centre's National Transport Project. The data will then be shared with a central command centre managed by the Delhi Traffic Police, which will then take further action. The national capital region (NCR) has some of the poorest air quality in the world, and studies, like one conducted by IIT Kanpur in 2024, have said local vehicle and traffic emissions are the largest contributors to it. While the implementation will start in NCT, from 1 November onwards, it will extend to 5 locations in NCR—Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Sonipat. The CAQM also plans to extend it to the entirety of NCR from 1 April 2026. 'We've had meetings with fuel companies to ensure their stations follow these orders strictly. We've also been in talks with the transport department and Delhi Traffic Police, which will handle the action taken against EoL vehicles,' said Sharma. Also Read: Delhi's air was toxic for 56% of the days in last 5 years, AQI no reliable measure—CAG report After numerous directions & a pilot project The order to deny fuel to EoL vehicles from plying on Delhi's roads came after numerous advisories and directions by the National Green Tribunal, and Supreme Court of India, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Government of the National Capital of Delhi. 'There have been many attempts to enforce this order, but the implementation was lacking. We're confident that now with our technological interventions like the ANPR cameras, and meeting with fuel companies, and our pilot project, we can implement it well,' said Sharma. The pilot project of ANPR cameras started in December 2024, with around 100 cameras installed in Delhi. According to the CAQM, 3.62 crore vehicles were screened from then to June 2025, and 4.9 lakh end-of-life vehicles were identified. 'We have impounded 44,000 EoL vehicles as of March 2025, as part of the pilot project,' said Sharma. 'It was an attempt to show that our systems are working.' According to data from the VAHAN Dashboard, there are over 61 lakh end-of-life vehicles registered in Delhi, out of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers. Four-wheelers are 18 lakh, and the rest are other passenger and commercial vehicles. 'A BS-IV vehicle emits four times higher PM2.5 particles than a BS-VI vehicle,' he added. Reacting to the announcement, Tutu Dhawan, an automobile expert, said that people must follow the rule if it is implemented. 'Step by step, we need to support the government and policymakers on the road towards being carbon neutral.' Dhawan also talked about vehicle scrapping facilities coming up in Delhi-NCR. 'There's new facilities in Noida and in and around Delhi. But the point isn't even to scrap all cars, it's to remove them from the road.' 'Whether that means taking it to a scrapping yard right away or to a garage or compound to keep it inactive, depends on the users,' he added. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: 'Pollution under control' at Rs 50. Inside Delhi's murky system of vehicular emission checks
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
No fuel in Delhi for old vehicles registered anywhere in India from July 1
Starting July 1, no end-of-life (EOL) vehicles—diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years—will be allowed to fill their tanks at Delhi fuel stations, irrespective of the states they are registered in, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) clarified on June 21. The statutory body had issued directions to fuel stations in April, stating that no overage vehicle should be given fuel from July 1. On Friday, it confirmed that these restrictions would apply to vehicles registered nationwide. The CAQM has taken the measure to close a loophole used by Delhi residents who register their overage vehicles in other states. 'Our directions do not say that only EOL vehicles registered in Delhi will be detected and denied fuel. Vehicles registered outside Delhi-NCR also ply on Delhi roads and contribute to pollution. If (Delhi) people register their vehicles outside… that has to be deterred. We know that this is happening,' said Virendra Sharma, Member (Technical), CAQM. Delhi's air pollution woes Delhi and its satellite cities are grappling with rising air pollution, particularly in winter. Air quality index (AQI) levels often cross into the 'severe' or 'severe-plus' categories, posing health risks, especially to children and senior citizens. A survey conducted last year found that 75 per cent of families in Delhi-NCR have at least one member experiencing a sore throat or persistent cough. Half of the respondents reported family members suffering from asthma or breathing difficulties due to the toxic air. VAHAN-linked cameras to detect violators In Delhi, 500 out of 520 fuel stations have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, which provide information such as the age and registration details of vehicles. The remaining stations will be equipped with the technology by June 30. The ANPR cameras, linked to the VAHAN database, will detect the age of vehicles and identify those without valid pollution certificates. Alerts will be sent to the command centre and enforcement teams comprising traffic and transport department officials, who will impound offending vehicles. Satellite cities to be included later The fuel ban will be extended to five high-vehicle-density districts adjoining Delhi—Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida), and Sonipat—starting November 1, after the installation of ANPR cameras is completed by October 31. For the remaining districts of the National Capital Region (NCR), the fuel denial policy will begin from April 1, 2026, by which time they must also install ANPR cameras. Commercial buses not exempt EOL buses—both private and state-owned—registered anywhere in India will also be detected by the ANPR cameras. However, separate directions will be issued to curb their movement in Delhi-NCR, Sharma said. He added that 100 enforcement teams comprising officials from traffic and transport departments have been deployed. Strict action will be taken against fuel stations found violating the directions under relevant provisions of law, he said. The CAQM noted that there are 62 lakh EOL vehicles in Delhi, of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers. In the entire NCR, the number stands at roughly 44 lakh, primarily concentrated in the five high-density cities. Sharma also said fuel stations must refuse to refuel such vehicles from the specified dates and that authorities must initiate legal action, including impounding and scrapping, under the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) Rules. There is also an option to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) to move overage vehicles outside Delhi for use elsewhere. Traffic surveillance systems and Integrated Command and Control Centres will be used to detect and act against these vehicles on roads. The directions come amid poor progress in removing EOL polluting vehicles from the NCR, despite previous orders from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.
