The Delhi government on Wednesday enforced stringent anti-pollution measures, barring the entry of vehicles that do not comply with BS-VI emission norms into the national capital. Under the new rules, fuel stations have also been directed not to supply fuel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, officials said.
According to government officials, the decision is expected to impact nearly 12 lakh vehicles entering Delhi daily from neighbouring areas, including Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida. “The focus is on reducing vehicular emissions, which significantly worsen air quality during the winter months,” a senior Transport Department official said.
To ensure strict enforcement, around 580 police personnel have been deployed for vehicle checks, with 37 enforcement vans stationed at 126 checkpoints across the city. Teams from the Transport Department, Municipal Corporation and Food Department have also been deployed at petrol pumps to monitor compliance.
Officials said the government is simultaneously working on long-term solutions to curb traffic-related pollution. Efforts are underway to ease congestion at 100 identified traffic hotspots and to implement an integrated traffic management system aimed at reducing waiting time at signals and cutting emissions.
Studies conducted by government agencies have found that vehicles contribute about 19.7 per cent of PM10 and 25.1 per cent of PM2.5 pollution levels in Delhi during winter, prompting the need for stricter controls.
Delhi’s air quality has remained poor since November, with the Air Quality Index fluctuating between the “severe” and “very poor” categories. At 4 pm on Wednesday, the city’s 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 334, placing it in the “very poor” category, though marginally better than Tuesday’s reading of 354, officials added.
