Diesel cars older than 10 years allowed in Delhi: Conditions Apply!

You might know that diesel cars are not allowed in Delhi NCR after 10 years and petrol cars are not allowed in Delhi NCR after 15 years. Because of this many people who live in the city, opt for a petrol car. However, now the government has allowed diesel cars in Delhi after 10 years if they retrofit their vehicle with an electric kit and convert the diesel vehicle into an electric vehicle.

Delhi is now open to ICE to electric retrofitting! Vehicles if found fit can convert their diesel to electric engine, dept'll empanel manufacturers of pure electric kit by approved testing agencies. Once empanelled this'll enable vehicles to continue plying here beyond 10 yrs.

— Kailash Gahlot (@kgahlot) November 18, 2021

Kailash Gahlot announced this information on Twitter. He said, “Delhi is now open to ICE to electric retrofitting! Vehicles if found fit can convert their diesel to electric engine, dept’ll empanel manufacturers of pure electric kit by approved testing agencies. Once empanelled this’ll enable vehicles to continue plying here beyond 10 yrs.”

Is this practical?

Nope! Not at all. It is a good idea in theory and in the long term. But as of now, there are very few electric conversion kit manufacturers, and they are mostly in the startup stage with very limited production numbers. If you try to convert your 10-year old Toyota Fortuner or Innova Crysta, you are not goin to find any such electric conversion kits at all!

However, the announcement may prompt some manufacturers to develop or import such kits, get them certified in India, and put them in the market. But that is going to take some time, definitely!

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The government has also exempted Electric Light Commercial Vehicles from idle parking on identifying roads during “No Entry” hours. This information was also shared by Kailash Gahlot over Twitter.

Good news for Electric Light Commercial Vehicles ( L5N & N1). To drive adoption of EVs we've exempted these vehicles from any prohibition from plying & idle parking on identified roads during ‘No Entry’ Hours. LCVs reg. have already seen a 95% hike since launch of EV Policy!

— Kailash Gahlot (@kgahlot) November 18, 2021

“Good news for Electric Light Commercial Vehicles ( L5N & N1). To drive adoption of EVs we’ve exempted these vehicles from any prohibition from plying & idle parking on identified roads during ‘No Entry’ Hours. LCVs reg. have already seen a 95% hike since launch of EV Policy!” the tweet said.

As of now, commercial vehicles are not allowed on around 250 roads of Delhi during peak hours. So, from 7 to 11 in the morning and from 5 to 9 in the evening, commercial vehicles are not allowed because it leads to traffic congestion and also increases pollution. Most of these heavy-duty trucks are running on diesel and they are old because of which they emit a lot of air pollution. However, electric vehicles on other hand do not emit any kind of pollution so small commercial vehicles like Tata Ace can be allowed on public roads during “No Entry” hours.

The ruling party in Delhi is Aam Aadmi Party. They are targeting to register 25 percent new electric vehicles by 2024. So, they offer subsidies on some electric vehicles. Moreover, the sale of electric commercial vehicles has increased significantly.

Gahlot said, “Since the launch of EV Policy, the sale of e-LCVs has gone up from just 46 to 1054 – a 95.6 per cent rise in registration. We are hopeful that the latest decision will give a huge push to mass adoption of EVs across categories in Delhi,”

To keep a check on air pollution from vehicles, the fine on not having a Pollution Under Control Certificate has been increased to Rs. 10,000. The driver license of the driver will also be cancelled on the spot. Gahlot said that on average 300 challans are being issued to defaulters.

The transportation department of New Delhi has also sent a communication to neighbouring states. The communication says that diesel vehicles older than 10 years will not be allowed to enter Delhi and these vehicles will be impounded and scrapped. Kailash Gahlot said, “All stage carriage buses are also mandatorily required to carry a valid PUC certificate failing which they will be fined,”

Source

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