Public Anger Wins, Delhi Government Says Won’t Scrap Old Cars And Bikes

New Delhi:

Faced with publicy fury, the Delhi government has rolled back a contentious order denying fuel to ‘end of life’ cars – the term for petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters a fuel ban such as this is difficult to enforce -due to ‘technological challenges and complex sytems – ‘and said a system to seize poorly-maintained vehicles, instead of punishing people who take care of their cars and motorcycles, is being worked out.

The rollback follows widespread public anger over the ‘end of life’, or EoL, policy.

The Commission of Air Quality Management order, which came into effect July 1, was meant to curb vehicular pollution in the national capital, where people labour under a blanket of toxic smog during the winter months and suffer through poor air quality for the rest of the year