BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel vehicles back
NEW DELHI: The ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in the Capital will be lifted from Monday, largely due to the stable air quality over the past week or so, a senior transport department official aware of the matter said on Sunday, suspending a key measure that was put in place to stem the city’s hazardous pollution levels.
The move will come as a relief for 300,000 owners of older diesel vehicles and 200,000 petrol vehicles who were affected by the ban imposed on November 5.
The official added that the state may review the curbs if Delhi’s AQI worsens. The curbs were imposed as part of antipollution measures under Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
NEW DELHI: The ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel fourwheelers in the Capital will be lifted from Monday, largely due to the stable air quality over the past week or so, a senior transport department official aware of the matter said on Sunday, suspending a key measure that was put in place to stem the city’s pollution levels.
The move will come as a relief for 300,000 owners of older diesel vehicles and 200,000 petrol vehicles who were affected by the ban, which was imposed on November 5.
The official, however, added that the state may review the curbs if Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) worsens.
The curbs were imposed as part of anti-pollution measures under Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
To be sure, the ban on private constructions and other Grap measures in place continue to be in effect, said state government officials aware of the matter.
A transport department official said the ban on BS-III and BS-IV (diesel) four-wheeler vehicles was put in place till November 13 (Sunday) in any case.
“We have not issued any order extending the ban, so it will lapse on Sunday night. There will be no ban on BS-III and BS-IV vehicles from Monday until further orders. The situation is being closely monitored by the authorities. The AQI in the Capital has largely been stable over the past few days,” said the official.
Owners of at least 4,000 vehicles have so far been fined for violating the bar on older vehicles. According to a Delhi Police officer, between November 8 to November 11 the Delhi traffic police stopped and fined nearly 3,906 people for using their petrol BS-III or diesel BS-IV vehicles. Meanwhile a transport department officer said their enforcement teams fined 190 people between November 11 and 13.
Delhi’s AQI has stayed within the “poor” and “very poor” ranges for a week now, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Sunday, Delhi logged an AQI of 303, the same as a day ago, while this was 346 on Friday, 295 on Thursday, 260 on Wednesday, 372 on Tuesday, 354 on Monday and 339 last Sunday.
An AQI from 201-300 is classified as “poor” and 301-400 as “very poor”.
Residents welcomed the move.
Rishav Singh, a resident of Anand Vihar who works in Gurugram and owns a BS-III petrol vehicle said the ban forced him to take an inconvenient Metro route to office.
“I had to take the Metro from Anand Vihar to travel to office. My car has a valid Pollution Under Control certificate, and I fail to understand why a car conforming to the tailpipe emission norms was banned,” Singh said.