Delhi Begins Winter Pollution Curbs: No Fuel Without PUC at 500 Pumps; Outside Non-BS-VI Vehicles Barred From November 1

NEW DELHI: Fuel stations across Delhi stopped refuelling vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) from Thursday, October 1, one of the first measures of the city's winter plan against air pollution to take effect.

The rule applies at the city's 500 fuel stations fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. The cameras read a vehicle's registration number and check it against the national database, and the pump does not dispense petrol, diesel, CNG or LPG if the certificate has expired or is missing, The NewsMill reported. Owners must renew the certificate before they can buy fuel; testing is available at participating stations.

The rule follows Direction No. 101 of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), issued on May 15, 2026, which requires petrol and CNG stations to stop refuelling vehicles without a valid certificate from October 1, Business Today reported. A CAQM sub-committee chaired by Rajesh Verma reviewed the preparations at its 26th meeting on September 29. The measure is part of a wider winter strategy that also targets older vehicles, stubble burning and industrial emissions.

"Since this morning, we have not been giving fuel to any vehicle that does not have a pollution certificate," Dinesh Kumar, a Bharat Petroleum manager, told The NewsMill. Transport operator Jai Bhagwan Gautam said: "We fully welcome this."

The winter plan

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced the plan at a press conference on September 28, after discussions chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, NewsGram reported. Most of its curbs run from November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027:

• Vehicles: non-BS-VI vehicles registered outside Delhi will be barred from entering the city from November 1. End-of-life vehicles, more than 15 years old for petrol and 10 years for diesel, face strict enforcement, and fitness tests are planned for 2.5 lakh vehicles at three automated testing stations.
• Offices: 50 per cent of staff in government and private offices are to work from home, according to NewsGram. Municipal Corporation offices will work from 8.30 am to 5 pm and Delhi government offices from 10 am to 6.30 pm, to stagger travel.
• Construction: demolition and outdoor civil construction are prohibited from November 1 to January 31.
• Parking: fees at authorised parking sites are doubled, except at Delhi Metro sites.
• Buses: 150 electric buses are being added, taking the fleet to more than 700, NewsGram reported.

A public awareness campaign runs through October, and PUC centres are to be upgraded in November. The plan also includes weekly inspections of pollution hotspots, a complaint system for citizens, daily air quality bulletins and coordination with the neighbouring NCR states.

Where reports differ

Channel IAM, reporting on October 7, described the work-from-home measure as applying to a portion of office staff, and said outdoor construction and dust-generating demolition would be restricted from November 1, with a complete ban on construction and demolition from December 10 to January 20. It also listed intensified action against open waste burning and an AI-based command and control system to identify pollution sources in real time.

Down To Earth reported on October 5 that the Commission for Air Quality Management has also revised the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), bringing some restrictions on buses into force at an earlier stage. The winter plan adds to GRAP, which continues to impose further curbs when air quality crosses set thresholds.

Air quality so far

Delhi's Air Quality Index stood at 187 on October 4, Channel IAM reported. September's average was 102, the lowest September average in five years. Pollution in the city usually peaks between November and January.