Taking an important step to control pollution soon after coming to power in Delhi, the BJP government has ordered that vehicles older than 15 years will not get petrol at pumps. 

Making the announcement on Saturday, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who took charge on Monday, said a team will be formed to identify such vehicles. 

“We are installing gadgets at petrol pumps which will identify vehicles older than 15 years and no fuel will be provided to them,” Mr Sirsa said after holding a meeting with officials to discuss steps to combat air pollution in Delhi. 

Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have a policy under which diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are not allowed on the roads. An order in 2021 had also said that such vehicles would be impounded and sent to the scrapyard if they were found operating on the roads after January 1, 2022. 

Mr Sirsa said the government’s initial focus will be on heavy vehicles entering Delhi and teams will check whether the laid-down rules are being followed. 

Anti-Smog Guns

Stating that there are several big organisations in Delhi which cause pollution, the minister said they will be instructed to install new anti-pollution “gadgets”. All high-rise buildings, hotels, and commercial complexes in the capital will also have to install anti-smog guns.

Announcing other steps, Mr Sirsa said a plantation drive will be held every year and university students will be encouraged to take part in it.

“New forests will be created in the vacant land in Delhi so that pollution can be reduced. We will also start working on cloud seeding,” he said. 

In a reference to the previous AAP government’s claims that stubble burning and other factors in states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh contributed to pollution in Delhi, Mr Sirsa said, “We have only one goal: The one who is causing pollution will also provide the solution. When we reduce pollution in our state, only then will we be able to tell other states. Factors within Delhi contribute to over 50 per cent of the capital’s pollution.”

Despite slight improvements in recent years, Delhi – which is one of the most polluted cities in the world – saw 157 days in which the air quality index or AQI was poor or worse.