Amid Rising Air Pollution, Delhi Puts Ban on BS 3 Petrol & BS 4 Diesel Vehicles

Amid the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Delhi government announced that it would no longer permit the movement of vehicles with BS 3 petrol and BS 4 diesel engines within the city from Tuesday onwards.

Owing to unfavourable weather conditions, including winds and low temperatures, the city's air quality deteriorated to a severe level on Monday.

As a result, the National Capital Region (NCR) has been ordered by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to enforce anti-pollution laws even more aggressively.

Except for vehicles used in emergency services, police vehicles, and government vehicles used for enforcement, there will be restrictions on the operation of BS 3 Petrol and BS 4 Diesel four-wheelers in the NCT of Delhi with immediate effect until January 12, 2023, or until downward revision in the GRAP stage, whichever comes first, read a statement released by the Transport Department of Delhi on Monday.

At 4 pm on Monday, the national capital's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI), which had been at 371 on Sunday, was recorded to be at 434 today.

An AQI of 201 to 300 is regarded as 'poor', 301 to 400 as 'extremely poor', and 401 to 500 as 'severe'.

The Delhi Government previously banned the use of all diesel cars and other diesel vehicles in the Delhi-NCR that did not comply with BS 4 diesel engines. The limits were decreased to Stage 3 as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on November 6 last year.

Though, the BS-4 diesel vehicle ban is still in effect. According to the Motor Vehicle Act, violators would be fined Rs 20,000.