New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday welcomed the Centre for Air Quality Management's decision to defer the implementation of the fuel ban on overage vehicles, calling it a "major relief" for the people of the city.

Reiterating the government's commitment to improving air quality in the national capital, Sirsa said the fight against pollution will continue, but the vehicle ban must be guided by science and data rather than arbitrary age limits.

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"After our request, the CAQM has shown sensitivity towards the concerns of the people. This is a big relief for Delhiites," Sirsa said reacting to the CAQM decision.

The CAQM, which is the Centre's panel on air quality in Delhi-NCR, on Tuesday, decided to put on hold the implementation of the fuel ban on end-of-life (EOL) or overage vehicles in the national capital until November 1.

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EOL vehicles are diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.

According to directions issued earlier, such vehicles were not to be given fuel in Delhi from July 1 irrespective of the states they were registered in.

Sirsa had last week requested the CAQM to withhold action against such vehicles, calling the move "premature and potentially counterproductive", citing "operational and infrastructural challenges".

The minister asserted that polluting vehicles must be banned, but policies must be based on emission data and not age.

"We will conduct proper studies to assess actual pollution levels and will approach the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with our findings. Polluting vehicles must be banned, but not just because they are old. Any policy must be based on emission data, not age," he said.

He also raised serious concerns over the scrapping of nearly 80,000 vehicles during the previous administration.

"There is no proper scrapping facility in Delhi. We want to know where those vehicles went. A thorough inquiry will be initiated into this," he said.

Additionally, fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to detect EOL vehicles.

The camera reads the number plate of vehicles entering fuel stations and instantly checks with the central VAHAN database, which shows details like the vehicle's age, fuel type and registration.

If the vehicle is found to be EOL, the system alerts the fuel station staff not to refuel it. The violation is recorded and sent to enforcement agencies, who are then required to take action such as impounding and scrapping the vehicle.

However, public discontent and outcry over the move prompted the Delhi government to request the CAQM to halt the implementation of the move.

The installation of ANPR cameras in the five high-density districts is to be completed by October 31.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)