In a bold step to check air pollution in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday tabled the Air Pollution Mitigation Plan 2025, a comprehensive plan aimed at reducing vehicular emissions, dust, and solid waste, and encouraging cleaner mobility and greener city infrastructure.
The key provision of this new policy is a strict ban on all non-emission compliant commercial vehicles from entering Delhi from November 1, 2025. Commercial vehicles that are BS-VI norms compliant, or driven by CNG or electricity, will be permitted to enter.
To accelerate the city's transition to electric cars, the government will deploy 2,299 electric vehicles at strategic Delhi Metro stations and install 18,000 EV charging stations in public and semi-public spaces like shopping malls, transit points, and business districts. In addition, there would be a comprehensive review and upgradation of existing EV infrastructure.
A revamped EV policy will steer Delhi’s transition toward cleaner fuels, targeting 80% of government vehicles to run on eco-friendly energy. In ecologically sensitive regions like forests and protected zones, only electric vehicles will be permitted, with a gradual phase-out of non-essential and non-electric vehicles.
To tackle pollution from aging vehicles, the city will install Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at all border entry points. These cameras will recognize End-of-Life (EoL) vehicles and send SMS notifications immediately and flash warnings on hoardings to deter them from entering. ANPR technology will also be used at fuel stations for enforcement. In addition, there will be a smart intelligent traffic management system that will help ease congestion—a major pollutant. Additionally, Pollution Under Control (PUC) centers will undergo audits every six months to ensure constant compliance.
In response to popular questions, CM Gupta ruled out bringing back the Odd-Even scheme, citing its limited success and inconvenience. "We need solutions that are scalable and sustainable, not temporary fixes," she underlined.
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