Automated cams to be set up at borders to ward off old vehicles

New Delhi: Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa convened a meeting on Friday to assess strategies to prevent the end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) from entering the city as they significantly contribute to vehicular pollution. The minister said Delhi govt was in the final stages of developing its comprehensive Environment Action Plan 2025-26. The plan encompasses various technology-driven, high-impact initiatives designed to reduce air pollution and control dust emissions. A key component is stringent measures to restrict the entry of polluting vehicles, beginning with the installation of automated numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras at all Delhi border points.
Sirsa directed officials from the environment and transport departments and Delhi Traffic Police to implement the ban through the immediate installation of ANPR cameras, which will automatically capture incoming vehicle numbers, cross-check them against the VAHAN database, and identify whether they are legally permitted to enter Delhi.
A Delhi govt statement explained that vehicle registration details would be verified, and if an ELV was found, an alert message would be played on an LED display system. LED screens at border points will also flash vehicle numbers and simultaneously trigger “wrong entry” text and WhatsApp messages to the owner.
“We want to target pollution at its very originating point. ANPR cameras are being installed phase-wise at Delhi’s border points to restrict end-of-life and unfit vehicles. This is more than enforcement—this is about protecting the health of our people. Through data, automation and inter-state communication, we are creating a pollution shield around Delhi,” Sirsa said.

On April 23, Commission for Air Quality Management stated that all end-of-life vehicles would be denied fuel in Delhi from July 1 this year, and from Nov 1 in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, GB Nagar and Sonipat. It also imposed a ban on the entry of all transport/commercial goods vehicles, including LGVs, MGVs and HGVs, other than BS-VI, CNG, LNG and EVs into Delhi from Nov 1.