The government of Delhi, in order to curb down air pollution and bring down the alarming AQI levels of the city, has now enforced a set of new strict rules under GRAP IV. From today, i.e., 18th December, 2025, there will be a strict entry ban on all non-Delhi registered private vehicles that do not meet the BS-VI emission standards. Additionally, from today, any vehicle which does not have a valid Pollution Under Control certificate will not be provided fuel. Lastly, the ban on older vehicles has been reinstated by the Delhi government.
Any vehicle which enters Delhi and is lower than BS-VI will be heavily fined or seized by the Delhi Traffic Police. This ban applies to all vehicles which enter Delhi from neighbouring NCR regions such as Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad. This new rule has been passed under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP IV) due to extremely high pollution levels in Delhi.
It has been estimated that over 12 lakh vehicles attempting to enter Delhi daily will be affected. Estimates suggest that over 4 lakh vehicles from Noida, around 2 lakh from Gurugram, and nearly 5.5 lakh from Ghaziabad will be affected by this rule. The only exceptions to the entry ban are vehicles running on CNG or electric power, public transport, vehicles carrying essential commodities, and vehicles providing essential services.
Vehicles carrying construction materials have also been banned from entering Delhi under GRAP IV norms. The Delhi government, in order to strictly enforce these rules, has deployed 580 police personnel, 37 enforcement vans, 126 checkpoints, and support from the Transport Department and municipal authorities at the borders to make sure that none of the banned vehicles enter Delhi.
Another majorly affecting rule which is now being implemented in Delhi is that no vehicle will be provided fuel if it does not have a valid Pollution Under Control certificate. Fuel stations have been prohibited from dispensing fuel to vehicles without valid PUC certificates. These enforcement mechanisms include Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at pumps.
There will also be voice alerts at fuel stations, and on-ground police and Transport Department personnel will be present at fuel stations. Back in July of this year, the Delhi government announced that end-of-life vehicles will not be provided fuel in Delhi. However, after public backlash, this rule was temporarily put on hold. Now, the fuel denial policy has been reintroduced again.
Due to these rising pollution concerns, the Supreme Court of India has clarified and modified its August 12, 2025 order and has tightened the restrictions on older vehicles. Earlier, the court had ruled that no coercive action would be taken against diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
However, on December 17th, 2025, the Supreme Court of India has clarified that only BS-IV and newer vehicles are protected by this law, even if they are older than the age limit. Vehicles below BS-IV, which include BS-III and older, can face actions including removal or scrapping. This clarification has come at the request of the Delhi government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
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