A majority of vehicle owners in Delhi (79%) are against the ‘fuel ban for old vehicles’ rule, according to a new survey released on July 3.
In the survey by LocalCircles, people were asked whether they supported the Delhi government’s new rule that petrol pumps cannot sell fuel to 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles (including two-wheelers).
Out of 16,907 who responded to the question, 79 per cent said “no,” and the remaining 21 per cent said “yes.”
In essence, 79 per cent of vehicle owners in Delhi, which is about 8 in 10 people surveyed, are against the ‘fuel ban for old vehicles’ rule.
Starting July 1, all end-of-life (EOL) vehicles — diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years — irrespective of the state in which they are registered, cannot be fuelled in Delhi, according to a directive by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
A 2018 Supreme Court ruling banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. A 2014 National Green Tribunal order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public areas.
While the policy aims to reduce vehicular emissions in Delhi, its sudden and rigid enforcement has led to panic, protests, and logistical strain, the survey found. The LocalCircles survey received over 33,000 responses from residents of 11 districts of Delhi. 67 per cent of respondents were men, while 33 per cent of respondents were women.
The Delhi government issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on June 17, mandating that all petrol pumps must maintain a log, either manual or digital, of all denied fuel transactions involving such vehicles.
87 per cent of two-wheelers upset
The survey also found that, as against 44 per cent of four-wheeler vehicle owners, as many as 87 per cent of two-wheeler owners are upset by the new fuel rule and seizure of old vehicles. The findings are based on a comparison of the car owners’ survey in June 2025 and the all-vehicle owners’ survey in July 2025.
Among the 62 lakh vehicles that qualify as old vehicles in Delhi, 70 per cent are two-wheelers.
Minister wants policy on hold for now
Amid the growing backlash on social media over the ‘no fuel for old vehicle’ rule, Delhi’s environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to put it on hold for now.
We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect.
The minister urged the commission put the implementation of Direction No. 89, which mandates the denial of fuel to End-of-Life (EOL) vehicles in Delhi, till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is integrated across the Capital and NCR.
“We urge the Commission to put the implementation of Direction No. 89 on hold with immediate effect till the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is seamlessly integrated across the entire NCR. We are confident that the ongoing multi-pronged efforts of the Delhi Government will achieve substantial improvements in air quality,” Sirsa’s letter to the commission read.