Ministers defend ELV crackdown

Amid growing backlash over the enforcement of the end-of-life vehicle (ELV) policy in Delhi, Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa jointly addressed a press conference on Wednesday, defending the move and blaming the previous AAP government for failing to act on court-mandated pollution control measures.

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The ministers clarified that the restrictions on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles stem from multiple directives issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) since 2014 and a Supreme Court ruling in 2018. These legal mandates prohibit the operation of older vehicles on Delhi’s roads due to their high pollution emissions.

“This is not a matter of blame game but it is due to failure of the previous government to contain pollution. The crackdown on ELVs is not a new policy of the Delhi government but the result of court orders that were systematically ignored by the previous AAP regime,” said Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh, adding that the present government is simply enforcing long-pending directives.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa launched a scathing attack on the AAP, accusing it of years of inaction that worsened Delhi’s air quality.

“The NGT directed deregistration of old vehicles as early as 2014, but those orders were flouted. The Supreme Court stepped in again in 2018. Had the AAP government acted on time, we wouldn’t have had to enforce such harsh measures today,” he said.

Sirsa said other metro cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai did not require blanket ELV bans because they took early steps to manage air quality.

“This is a crisis inherited from AAP’s negligence. Odd-even schemes were a failure and nothing concrete was done. Now, Delhi’s people are paying the price,” he said.

In response to public concern, the ministers said the Delhi Government will soon present its current pollution-control efforts to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). These include deploying anti-smog guns, enforcing dust control, repairing roads and clearing landfill sites by 2027.