Police said many car owners have sold their old diesel vehicles to people outside Delhi Police said many car owners have sold their old diesel vehicles to people outside Delhi

Of the 1.9 lakh diesel vehicles de-registered by the transport department three weeks ago, only 62 have been impounded by traffic police so far. The de-registration of diesel vehicles older than 15 years was done against the backdrop of the National Green Tribunal demanding immediate steps to curb air pollution.

Since November 12, when the vehicles were de-registered, traffic police have challaned 5,188 vehicles without pollution under control certificates, 62 diesel vehicles older than 15 years, and 63 vehicles carrying construction debris without adequately covering the material.

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“We have been strict in our persecution drives since December last year, after the NGT ordered measures to curb air pollution. Last year, we issued 34.83 lakh challans and this year we have issued 36.98 lakh challans,” Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Garima Bhatnagar said.

But taking old diesel vehicles off the roads — one of the primary agendas set by the NGT and other courts in the fight against air pollution — has proved to be tougher than anticipated.

Police said many car owners have sold their old diesel vehicles to people outside Delhi, while some could be leaving their vehicles at home for fear of being penalised. Plus, there is a chance that many people are plying old vehicles in bylanes or smaller roads, unmanned by traffic personnel.

“Details of the 1.9 lakh vehicles de-registered by the Delhi government have been entered into our database to recalibrate our e-challan machines. But traffic police jurisdiction is restricted to main roads,” Bhatnagar said.

In many cases, errant vehicles are driven by someone who does not have the car in his name. “We have found two such cases so far. We sent the court challan to the address of the owner, but he is not liable to pay a fine or give up the vehicle because he did not commit the violation,” an officer said.

“Many owners sell their vehicle without informing the transport department and initiating a formal transfer of the vehicle,” a transport official added.

Traffic police said that at meetings held since last month, it was suggested that the transport department issue personal notices to the 1.9 lakh owners with de-registered vehicles to provide the status of their vehicle.

Plus, police said they do not know what to do if they catch a diesel vehicle older than 15 years registered in another state.

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