Only 10% of 66 lakh ELVs may be plying on Capital's roads, CAQM report shows, Pg3

Key Highlights:

• A CAQM report indicates that only 10% of the estimated 66 lakh end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are currently operational on Delhi roads.
• The data includes 41,10,585 pre-Bharat Stage (BS), BS-I, and BS-II two-wheelers, and 25,42,807 BS-III cars and other vehicles.
• The Supreme Court has ordered measures against ELVs below BS-IV to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi.
• Recommended measures include incentives for scrapping ELVs and installing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at Delhi's entry points.

Detailed Insights:

• End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years, previously banned by the Delhi government following NGT and Supreme Court directives.
• Discrepancies in data suggest that many ELVs may have been sold in other states or scrapped, leading to inflated figures due to poor data maintenance.
• The CAQM suggests incentivizing two-wheelers under the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy 2.0, expected to be ready by the next fiscal year, to curb air pollution.
• Plans include increasing electric vehicle charging and battery swapping points from 9,000 to 36,000 within two years and addressing 62 identified congestion points.

Key Concepts Involved:

• End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV): Old vehicles (petrol >15 years, diesel >10 years) that are considered unfit for use due to age and pollution.
• Bharat Stage (BS) Norms: Emission standards set by the government to regulate air pollutants from vehicles.
• Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR): Technology that automatically captures and recognizes vehicle license plates.