Delhi govt impounds over 2,200 overage vehicles to combat air pollution

New Delhi: The Delhi Transport Department has impounded 2,234 overage vehicles between October 1 and November 15 as part of an ongoing drive.

The initiative, launched last month, aims to address the deteriorating air quality in the national capital.

According to official data, the seized vehicles include 260 diesel four-wheelers that are over 10 years old, alongside 1,156 petrol two-wheelers and 818 petrol three and four-wheelers, all older than 15 years.

The campaign, which is set to continue until December, is part of a broader effort to enforce environmental regulations and reduce vehicular emissions.

In tandem with the crackdown, the Transport Department has rolled out an online portal to facilitate the scrapping, retrieval, or sale of seized vehicles.

The platform is designed to streamline the process, providing owners with a clear Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for managing overage vehicles.

The Transport Department has also issued directives to Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) to adhere strictly to the 2024 guidelines for handling end-of-life vehicles, as mandated by a recent Delhi High Court order.

Non-compliance of the order could result in exclusion from the program, officials warned.

This drive follows a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that banned the operation of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi.

Additionally, a 2014 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order prohibits parking of vehicles over 15 years old in public places.

More than 55 lakh overage vehicles have been de-registered in Delhi, according to an October 10 public notice by the Transport Department.

To ensure effective enforcement, traffic police have also been directed to deploy four teams per municipal zone in coordination with the department's enforcement wing.