Old vehicle owners in Delhi seek legal safeguards according to former Chief Minister Atishi Mishra's plea to Rekha Gupta, who now holds legislative power.

In a recent turn of events, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Mishra has written a public letter to the current Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, requesting the introduction of a law to protect 10-year-old petrol and 15-year-old diesel vehicles. This comes after the temporary halt of the enforcement of the overage vehicle ban, initially scheduled to begin on July 1.

The Delhi Government had initiated the impounding of overage vehicles at petrol pumps from July 1, in compliance with the orders of the National Green Tribunal. However, the impounding was later revoked on July 3 due to technological and administrative challenges.

Atishi Mishra, a member of the AAP, argues that a blanket ban on both kinds of vehicles would adversely impact almost 60 lakh vehicle owners in Delhi-NCR. Instead, she suggests a legislative route, expressing her intention to convene a special session at Vidhan Sabha to debate and pass a bill to protect end-of-life vehicles.

Mishra points out that vehicle age cannot be the sole criterion for a ban, citing how some 3-4 year old cars can be more polluting than a 10-year-old car. She further emphasises that the middle-class aspirational value of an average Delhi citizen is getting scrapped due to the ban.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has postponed the enforcement of the overage vehicle ban until November 1. A review meeting was held, resulting in the enforcement being put on hold until this date. The campaign against overage vehicles will be resumed after November 1, with the focus on Delhi and five high adjoining areas with high vehicle density.

In the meantime, petrol pumps have been instructed to refrain from fueling overage vehicles. The bill proposing the protection regulation for 10-year-old petrol vehicles and 15-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi was introduced by the Delhi government and is scheduled to be discussed and passed in the Vidhan Sabha in the upcoming session starting from August 31, 2023.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

Old vehicle owners in Delhi seek legal safeguards according to former Chief Minister Atishi Mishra's plea to Rekha Gupta, who now holds legislative power.