Pass law to protect old vehicles, impacts 60 lakh owners: Atishi to Delhi CM

Delhi Assembly leader of opposition and former chief minister Atishi on Friday wrote to incumbent chief minister Rekha Gupta, urging her to introduce a law to protect 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles from being scrapped, warning that the proposed blanket ban would adversely impact at least 60 lakh vehicle owners in the city.

In her letter, Atishi said, "Even though the plan that started on July 1 was rolled back after a public backlash, now another deadline of November 1 looms over residents. If implemented, this decision will affect around 20 lakh four-wheelers and 40 lakh two-wheelers in Delhi."

She criticised the government's approach, saying that for Delhi’s middle-class families, owning a car is an aspirational milestone. "Many people purchase second-hand vehicles or retain older cars for personal and family use. Removing 60 lakh vehicles in one go will severely impact their lives. Affording a new vehicle is not a viable option for most," the AAP leader said.

The former CM also questioned the logic of using a vehicle's age as the sole criterion for scrapping it. “There might be cars that are just 3-4 years old but are polluting, and others that are 10-12 years old but well-maintained. A blanket ban is illogical and only benefits car manufacturers and scrappers,” she said.

Fuel ban on overaged vehicles postponed, new timeline for Delhi-NCR enforcement

While acknowledging the need to address pollution, Atishi said enforcing a blanket ban is not the solution and called for a legislative route instead. She urged the BJP-led Delhi government to convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to debate and pass a bill protecting end-of-life vehicles.

She also assured full support from the Aam Aadmi Party in passing such a bill. "Now that the BJP is in power in both the Centre and the state, the bill can be passed in days if there is political will."

The Delhi government begun impounding overage vehicles at petrol pumps from 1 July, in compliance with the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order. Petrol pumps were instructed not to provide fuel to vehicles older than 10 years (diesel) and 15 years (petrol) under directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

However, the Delhi government on 3 July wrote to the CAQM, citing 'technological and administrative challenges' in implementing the fuel ban.

Following a review meeting, the CAQM put the enforcement on hold until 1 November and announced that the campaign would be launched across Delhi and five adjoining high-vehicle-density districts — Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Sonipat — from that date.