Only 10% of 66 lakh ELVs may be plying on Delhi roads, latest CAQM report shows

Last year, as the government agencies prepared to take action against such vehicles, it was estimated that the Capital has over 66 lakh vehicles plying on the roads. “The database has vehicles registered two-three decades ago.If we see, on ground, not even one-fourth of these ELVs are currently present in the city. People have either sold their vehicles in other states or scrapped it…,” said a senior official, adding that poor maintenance of data could be a reason for the “inflated figures”.

On Monday, a meeting chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav was attended by the officials of the CAQM to discuss steps to curb air pollution in the Capital.

In the wake of the latest Supreme Court order dated December 17, according to officials, the Delhi Transport department and other enforcement agencies have been asked to take measures against ELVs with an aim to cut down vehicular pollution, one of the key contributors to the Capital’s foul air. Last month, the Supreme Court also modified its previous order barring coercive action against ELVs and clarified that action could be taken against models below BS-IV.

Among the measures recommended by the anti-pollution watchdog at the meeting are incentives for scrapping ELVs. It also suggested the installation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at all 126 border entry points in the next three months to stop the ELVs from entering Delhi.

Further, to curb air pollution, it also suggests “incentivising two wheelers under the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy 2.0, which is expected to be ready by the next fiscal year,” the plan stated.

Focusing on enhancing electric vehicle charging and battery swapping points from 9,000 to 36,000 within next two years, expeditious action to address all 62 identified congestion points in a time bound manner, deployment of adequate traffic personnel to ensure smooth traffic flow were among other steps discussed in the meeting.