The Delhi government has notified the introduction of a new policy to reduce the rising pollution levels in the capital. The new rule states that from April 1st, vehicles older than 15 years will not be supplied with fuel at any petrol station in the city. The announcement was made by Delhi Environment Minister Majinder Singh Sirsa, after a meeting with the senior officials on 1st March.
This decision was made keeping in mind the rising air pollution severely impacting the residents especially during winter time. The minister also stated that the move aims to reduce vehicular emissions, a major contributor to the city’s deteriorating air quality.
In addition to restricting fuel supply to older vehicles, Sirsa mandated that all high-rise buildings, hotels, and commercial complexes in the capital must install anti-smog guns to help control pollution levels.
He also mentioned that the Delhi government will formally communicate this decision to the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Since tackling air pollution from older vehicles is not enough, Sirsa also announced that nearly 90 per cent of Delhi’s public CNG buses will be phased out by December 2025 and replaced with electric buses as part of the government’s push for cleaner and more sustainable public transport.
These declarations are all components of Delhi’s comprehensive strategy to address air pollution, which still remains a rising concern for all the city’s inhabitants.
Impact on Car Owners
The introduction of this policy follows the earlier NGT ruling on old cars, where 10 year old diesel cars and 15 year old petrol would not be allowed to ply on Delhi NCR roads. While many Delhi NCR residents have complied with this ruling by either scrapping their car or selling their old car in a different state, many more vehicles are expected to come close to their end of life.
If your car is nearing its end of life, you should be actively looking to sell your car at the earliest. The new policy will make travelling within the Delhi NCR more difficult, reducing your options to drive your car out of the state in the unfortunate event that you run low on fuel. You will have to check the year of manufacture of their cars to ensure you are not affected and are able to take proactive action.
Impact on the Car Market
Since many private car owners had already bought new cars or upgraded from their old cars, the impact on the overall car market will be minimal. The few remaining owners of old cars will be looking to sell their vehicles in other states to ensure they get the most value or consider scrapping the vehicle to upgrade.
Unlike the earlier NGT ruling, this new policy is more of an enforcement tool to further incentivize people to move to new cars or more recently manufactured used cars. With that said, the used car market in Delhi NCR will see a preference for ‘newer’ used cars, as buyers will be looking to get more value for their money. In a similar way, buyers from other states might be able to get good deals on well-maintained pre-owned cars from Delhi NCR.
Summary
Delhi’s Environment Minister, Majinder Singh Sirsa announced a new policy on 1st March. The policy entails that all vehicles older than 15 years old will not be supplied with any fuel from 1st April, 2025 onwards. This big step is definitely a start to make the capital region less polluted and provide relief to its inhabitants. While this policy is the step in the right direction, it may create short term economic difficulty for the population that cannot immediately afford a new car, or for small businesses that rely on old vehicles for transportation. So to curb this, people who cannot afford new cars will opt to sell their cars in other states or switch to public transport. Used car sellers will definitely see a higher demand in newer used cars. This policy will definitely prove useful once the government announces more measures to make this transition smooth for everybody.
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