End Of Days: July 1 Date Fuels Panic

Time of India

5 days ago

New Delhi: The news that starting July 1, all end-of-life (EOL) vehicles in Delhi will be denied fuel and may face deregistration, impounding or scrapping has sent many owners scrambling to part with their vehicles.
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With around 100 teams of traffic and transport department officials around to flag down EOL vehicles and all 520 fuel stations in the city equipped with technology to identify such vehicles, people think getting rid of their vehicles is better than living in fear and uncertainty.
However, not everyone is convinced it is time to let go of their aged vehicle. Some swear their vehicles were still running smoothly and call instead for measures like fitness certifications rather than terminal orders.
Varun Sud, an IT professional, for one, sold his old car. "The municipality carried out a drive that created apprehension among owners of EOL vehicles. Besides, there is talk of being denied petrol or diesel.
Ironically, new vehicles if not serviced properly, emit more smoke than a well-maintained 10-year-old car," said Sud.
He said in many places EOL vehicles were retrofitted with two-wheeler engines, defeating the purpose of the policy.
"In the case of our vehicles, hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide emissions were well within the permissible limits, even lower than average. Yet, we're being forced to dispose of a car that is still running perfectly," Sud grumbled.
Further, Vineet Malhotra, an Economics and English Professor based in the city, said, "Fearing the upcoming stringent norms on end-of-life vehicles, I sold my vehicle recently. A year was remaining, but I sold it in its ninth year, and later the prices would go down more, in fact.
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Further, the car was in absolutely perfect condition, to be honest. Instead, I believe a fitness certificate is necessary for the same."
Then there is Bobby KS Sawhney, MD, Bakshi Transport Service Ltd, who, although a transporter, was reluctant to dispose of his old Mercedes. But yes, he rushed the sale of his car after the recent news. "A few months remained for it reach 10 years. I had to sell a Rs 88-lakh Mercedes for a mere Rs 7 lakh.
It hadn't even logged up too many kilometres, to be honest. In fact, a lot of Volvo buses and others continue to drive despite the termination of life, but the fear is more real for the common man," sighed Sawhney.
Vikas Upadhyay too sold his car in a rush. "At least we got something. I might well get zero otherwise," he reasoned. Tanmay Srivastav did the same. He said, "I don't drive much, but yes, my car was 14 years old. It had hardly driven 14,000km. The pollution certificate showed valid levels so don't understand this stringency?"
EOL vehicle owners aren't happy with the scrapping policy.
"It feels poorly thought out. They promise 5% of the ex-showroom value, but most scrap dealers don't even offer that," complained Sud. "The certificate of deposit is also supposed to provide a 25% waiver on road tax and a 5% discount from dealers when we buy a new car. But in practice, dealers rarely honour this. That is why Delhi govt should audit the actual health of vehicles rather than ban them.
It's unfair to penalise owners of cars that are well-maintained and have original parts.
When we see old cars running freely in places like Kochi, we feel disheartened."
According to Commission for Air Quality Management, there are 62 lakh EOL vehicles in Delhi, of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers. In 2024, 39,273 EOL vehicles were impounded in Delhi. An official revealed that fuel stations in the city had been equipped with automatic number plate recognition technology to access the centralised Vahan database to identify EOL vehicles and deny them refuelling.
Transport expert Anil Chhikara, formerly of Delhi govt's transport department, said the end-of-life policy was enforced without adequate studies. "BS II and BS IV vehicles have similar tailpipe emissions but BS IV vehicles — equipped with emission control sensors and catalytic converters — rarely exceed the pollution certification limits. Yet, they're being scrapped purely on the basis of their age," Chhikara pointed out.
"Other states allow age extensions if a vehicle passes automated fitness tests, but Delhi doesn't. That's unfair. My own car, which had run just 36,000km, was scrapped last year despite being in perfect condition."