HC notice on plea over fine on fuel stn owners

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice in response to a petition challenging the Delhi government's order penalising petrol pump owners for refuelling ELVs.

- Snehil Sinha and Aaditya Khatwani

NEW DELHI: Enforcement efforts in Delhi's crackdown on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) faltered dramatically by Wednesday—the second day of the drive—with just seven vehicles impounded across the city, transport department data revealed. The drop in numbers comes after Tuesday's relentless showdown between authorities and rogue drivers at fuel stations in the Capital.

Officials said 78 ELVs were spotted on CCTV at petrol pumps on Wednesday, but only seven were seized—three each by the traffic police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and one by the transport department. As for the remaining 71, some drivers fled the fuel stations outright, while others produced valid no objection certificates (NOCs) to move their vehicles outside the National Capital Region (NCR). In a few instances, enforcement teams were not present at the fuel stations when the violations occurred.

On Day One of the drive on Tuesday, enforcement teams had managed to impound 80 ELVs after identifying 98 ELVs.