Operation air cleanup: No fuel for end-of-life (EOL) vehicles in Delhi from July 1

TNN / Updated: Apr 24, 2025, 10:04 IST

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Delhi will deny fuel to end-of-life vehicles starting July 1, with NCR regions following suit by 2026. The CAQM's directive aims to combat air pollution from older vehicles, classifying diesel vehicles over 10 years and petrol vehicles over 15 years as EOL. Stricter entry rules for commercial vehicles in Delhi will also be enforced from November 2025.

Operation air cleanup: No fuel for end-of-life (EOL) vehicles in Delhi from July 1

Delhi will deny fuel to end-of-life vehicles starting July 1

NEW DELHI: Starting July 1, all end-of-life (EOL) vehicles will be denied fuel in Delhi, with similar restrictions extended to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat from Nov 1, 2025, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced on Wednesday. The rule will apply to the remaining NCR districts from April 1, 2026, it stated.
Additionally, the commission has ordered a ban on the entry of all transport and commercial goods vehicles, including LGVs, MGVs, and HGVs—other than those running on BS-VI fuel, CNG, LNG, or electric power—into Delhi from Nov 1, 2025. Diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are classified as EOL.
The CAQM highlighted that overaged vehicles contribute significantly to pollution in the NCR. As of March 2025, Delhi has over 6,114,728 EOL vehicles, Haryana 2,750,152, Uttar Pradesh 1,269,598, and Rajasthan 620,962. In 2024, 39,273 such vehicles were impounded in Delhi alone.
Immediate legal action has been directed against EOL vehicles, including impoundment and disposal, except for exempted categories. The commission cited past directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court, which emphasised the role of overaged vehicles in worsening air quality.

To enforce these rules, the commission has instructed authorities to deploy Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at fuel stations in Delhi by June 30 this year. These will help identify and prevent refuelling of EOL vehicles.
"It needs no emphasis that the contribution from the transport sector to the overall air pollution load in the entire NCR is significantly high, and as a part of the air pollution control efforts, liquidation of a large fleet of EOL vehicles, which belong to the vintage of highly polluting vehicles to BS-III/BS-II standards, would need to be prioritised," stated the order.
The order further referred to the poor maintenance of transport or commercial vehicles impacting air quality. The CAQM stated they will be denied entry into Delhi from Nov 1. Citing poor maintenance of many commercial vehicles, the order also enforces a strict entry ban on all goods vehicles into Delhi from Nov 1, 2025.
Only those carrying essential commodities and services will be allowed until Oct 31, 2026, the order stated.

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