New Delhi: No new diesel, petrol, and CNG-based light goods vehicles will be registered in Delhi from 1 January 2027, the Commission for Air Quality Management announced Wednesday. The ban on these vehicles will also extend to high-density districts such as Gurugram, Faridabad, and Sonipat by 1 July 2027.
“We have taken these measures by keeping in mind our own expert committee reports and source apportionment studies of Delhi NCR, which showed how each vehicle category contributes to pollution,” said Tarun Pithode, Member Secretary, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), in a press briefing Thursday.
The CAQM announced its decision at its 29th meeting of the Full Commission on 18 August, when it also took other steps toward air pollution mitigation in Delhi. This includes newer restrictions on stone crushing units around Delhi NCR and financial support of Rs 3.25 crore for four research projects on road dust exposure, mechanical road sweeping technologies, particulate matter profiling/source apportionment in high-rise buildings, and forecasting of rice residue burning.
According to Pithode, the most important decision taken by the CAQM meeting was on restricting petrol and diesel large goods vehicles (LGVs). These vehicles, including small delivery vans, pickup trucks, and vehicles under 3.5 tonnes in weight, make up around 1.2 per cent of Delhi’s total fleet but cause about 3.3 per cent of total emissions.
Phased implementation
In accordance with CAQM Direction 102, Delhi NCR will see a phased restriction on the registration of new diesel, petrol, and CNG vehicles, in favour of electric vehicles (EVs) from 2027 onward. The ban will eventually extend to outer NCR areas in 2028 and 2029.
“We first imposed it in Delhi because many outer NCR regions do not have the bandwidth and infrastructure for EVs yet,” said Pithode. “We will therefore undertake this direction in a phased manner.”
Additionally, Direction 103 targets pollution caused by the 1,200 stone crushing units situated in and around Delhi NCR. It aims to incorporate existing guidelines from the Central Pollution Control Board into the performance of stone crushing units in NCR. This includes remote monitoring of all units for PM10 and PM2.5 emissions, live feed integration into CAQM’s central command room, and wheel washing of all trucks to reduce moving emissions.
These measures are similar to those imposed by CAQM at construction sites in NCR in 2021.
Finally, the CAQM meeting also mentioned that over 1,800 units were closed by the Enforcement Task Force in Delhi NCR until 10 August, 2026, for violating pollution norms. Around 1,461 were allowed to reopen after complying with guidelines.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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