Noida: Old vehicle owners welcome Supreme Court intervention on ELVs

As per Noida transport department, there are nearly 1 million registered vehicles, including around 40,000 diesel vehicles over 10 years old and 168,000 petrol vehicles older than 15 years in district

A day after the Supreme Court of India ordered that no coercive action be taken against the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) owners, the residents of Noida on Wednesday expressed relief saying that the ban should be based on the fitness and emission level of the vehicle rather than its age.

To be sure, the ELV bans were first mandated by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 and reinforced by the Supreme Court in 2018 to tackle the NCR’s air pollution crisis. (Raj K Raj/HT Photos)

According to the Noida transport department data, there are nearly 1 million registered vehicles, including around 40,000 diesel vehicles over 10 years old and 168,000 petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the Gautam Budh Nagar district. Traffic police said 160 ELVs were seized from January to August in Gautam Budh Nagar.

Piyush Gupta, who owns a 2005 Tata Indica, is a resident of Noida’s Sector 16, said, “I have read the Supreme Court judgment for ELVs, and for the time being, it is a big relief for me. Recently, when ELVs were banned on the road, I parked my car at home and switched completely to another vehicle.”

Gupta’s Indica, which was deregistered from Rajasthan and registered again in Noida, is about to expire this October.

As the apex court ordered no action for four weeks, he is exploring other options to sell or use the vehicle. “In my opinion, if any vehicle passes the fitness test, there should be no ban, because if someone is keeping his/her vehicle in good condition, why should it be banned?”

He further argued that for the last several years, the technology in cars has advanced as compared to old 20- to 30-year-old vehicles. Despite all additional changes and improvements, the ban is unjustified.

To be sure, the ELV bans were first mandated by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 and reinforced by the Supreme Court in 2018 to tackle the NCR’s air pollution crisis.

Earlier this year, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced that the ELV ban in the National Capital would take effect from July 1, with vehicles identified via Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) at fuel stations being denied fuel.

The same rule was to be implemented in five NCR districts from November 1 and across the rest of NCR from April 1, 2026.

ELV owners further stressed that the COVID lockdown period and the emission levels caused by vehicles should also be considered.

“The temporary relief for four weeks is more for people like us who are confused between selling vehicles or buying a new one,” said Vinay Kumar, a resident of Noida, Sector 55, who owns the Mahindra Scorpio 2010 model.

A senior traffic police officer, on condition of anonymity, said, “We are analysing the Apex Court’s order on ELVs. As of now, we are only issuing challans against the ELVs in the district.”

On Monday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria ordered that no coercive action be taken against ELV owners.

The court also issued a notice to the Delhi government and listed the matter for hearing after four weeks.