Outrage from the middle class and increasing political pressure seem to have pushed the BJP government in Delhi to seek more time to implement the decision to refuse fuel to petrol and diesel vehicles older than 15 and 10 years, respectively.
Voices against the ban on these vehicles, also called end-of-life vehicles, are not new but only grew louder with the latest crackdown. The BJP seems to have responded, but the reasons given by Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta differ.
While Sirsa said that the system being used to identify old vehicles was not fully functional, Gupta said the decision was affecting the lives and livelihoods of “lakhs of families”.
In a post on X, she said, “This decision is adversely affecting the daily lives and livelihoods of millions of families. Our government is fully committed to controlling air pollution and is working on long-term solutions for clean, sustainable transport. But while implementing any decision, it is equally important to maintain a balance with the social and economic needs of the citizens. Through this letter sent by Environment Minister Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa ji, we have urged that, keeping the public interest paramount, this order should be immediately suspended and a practical, equitable and phased solution should be prepared by consulting all the stakeholders. The Delhi Government always stands with the people of Delhi with its resolve for public welfare and public facilities.”
The decision to ban end-of-life vehicles from the roads of Delhi as well as NCR (National Capital Region) is not new. It was the National Green Tribunal which first debated the action and finally passed an order to this effect in 2015. The order was also upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
So what changed?
While old vehicles have been banned from Delhi roads for many years, the crackdown is fairly recent. Orders to impound them if they are parked on the roadsides or plying on the road were implemented at least two years ago.
Registered vintage vehicles were exempted, provided they are used only for exhibitions and rallies. Several vehicles owned by government entities were also deregistered. These vehicles can only be sold outside NCR after getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Transport department.
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The order to stop giving them fuel, passed by CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas), however, is new and ensures that these vehicles do not run anymore.
It directly impacts the middle-class voter, on whose back the BJP government has come to power. Over the past three days, there has been a consistent pushback from this segment, which has argued that vehicles should be impounded if they do not pass pollution checks, and not based on age.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has called the move to deny petrol a ‘Tughlaqi farmaan’ or a draconian order which is “anti-middle-class”.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the BJP follows the court’s decision only when it suits them, referring to the ordinance the Centre brought in to overturn the Supreme Court’s order granting control over bureaucrats to Delhi’s elected government.
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“When have you followed the Supreme Court’s decision? Whenever you feel like it. Wherever you feel comfortable, you bring an ordinance to overturn that decision,” he said.
