Overview

• The Commission for Air Quality Management acknowledged it conducted no independent study on pollution from diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old.
• It has deferred the fuel supply ban to October 31 after Delhi raised operational and infrastructural challenges with the ANPR camera system.
• Delhi’s government told the CAQM that software errors, sensor malfunctions and incomplete database integration hindered real-time age verification of end-of-life vehicles.
• Under the revised timeline, ANPR-enabled fuel restrictions will launch in five high-vehicle-density NCR districts on November 1 and extend across the region by April 1, 2026.
• Stakeholders argue for a shift toward emissions-based testing, retrofit incentives and a coordinated pollution-control strategy beyond age-based limits.