New Delhi: Delhi’s pollution crisis is real and demands urgent, targeted action. But the age-based blanket ban on vehicles is a blunt instrument. Vehicles are not pollutants by birthdate. Emissions depend on maintenance, usage, fuel quality, and technological compliance. Citizens are compelled to junk vehicles irrespective of their true environmental load. This de facto criminalizes ownership of older cars. The policy makes them ineligible for re-registration unless refurbished as electric cars. The punitive nature is insulting when viewed against the huge taxes paid.
Almost 40 per cent of a Rs 10 lakh car goes to taxes and fees. The government now declares paid-up vehicles illegal after ten years. Meanwhile, new SUVs with higher emissions go free. This is an outrageous assault on Delhi’s middle class.