Non-BS-VI vehicle ban to hit lakhs of NCR commuters as Delhi tightens pollution curbs

New Delhi: The Delhi government’s decision to ban the entry of all non-BS-VI vehicles from Thursday is set to disrupt the daily routines of lakhs of commuters across the National Capital Region (NCR). The move, intended to curb Delhi’s worsening air pollution, will immediately affect a massive number of vehicles in neighbouring cities, over 2 lakh in Gurgaon, around 4 lakh in Noida and nearly 5.5 lakh in Ghaziabad, many of which are used for daily cross-border travel.

Official data shows that Gurgaon alone has close to 2 lakh privately owned vehicles that do not meet BS-VI emission norms. This includes roughly 1.5 lakh BS-III petrol vehicles and more than 36,000 BS-IV diesel vehicles. In addition, the city has over 47,000 commercial BS-IV diesel vehicles, around 2,000 BS-III petrol commercial vehicles, and nearly 2,200 buses running on BS-III and BS-IV standards. Adding to the problem, about 92,000 diesel vehicles in Gurgaon have already crossed the 10-year age limit.

Noida faces a similar situation. Of the nearly 10 lakh vehicles registered in the city, more than 4 lakh will be barred from entering Delhi. These include around 1.4 lakh BS-III vehicles, 96,210 petrol and 41,067 diesel, and about 2.8 lakh BS-IV vehicles, most of them petrol-run. Only about 4.2 lakh vehicles in Noida comply with BS-VI norms and will be permitted to cross into Delhi.

In Ghaziabad, while over 5.5 lakh vehicles are BS-VI compliant, an almost equal number — including 1.7 lakh BS-III and 3.7 lakh BS-IV vehicles — will be affected by the ban.

The order has drawn strong reactions from residents who rely on daily travel to Delhi. Manoj Kumar of Gurgaon's Sector 50 described the decision as "absurd”, saying Delhi and NCR cities function as one urban unit. "Lakhs of people from Gurgaon and Faridabad travel to Delhi daily for work and other purposes. This order will obstruct the free flow movement of people,” he said.

Subhangi Sharma from Sector 40 criticised the approach, calling it a superficial solution. "Putting restrictions on vehicles is the only thing our govt knows when it comes to dealing with pollution,” she said.

Noida assistant regional transport officer Nand Kumar said the action aligns with GRAP-III norms but acknowledged Delhi has tightened restrictions further. "Now, Delhi govt has gone a step further and imposed a ban on all categories of vehicles below BS-VI. Traffic police teams have been deployed at all Noida-Delhi borders. Such vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi. Violators will be fined and their vehicles seized,” he said.

Residents like Alok Singh from Greater Noida questioned the lack of alternatives. "The govt enforces rules and bans old vehicles in a random manner. But what alternative modes of transport are available for people to commute during such bans? Nearly half of the population does not own BS-VI vehicles and will be badly affected. This will also put additional pressure on metro services, which are already overloaded,” he said.

Rahul Saha from Noida’s 7X sectors accused authorities of unfairly targeting vehicle owners. "It is trying to arm twist people into buying BS-VI cars. This is done in parts to appease car manufacturers who are not getting good bookings even after GST cuts. A complete ban for private cars is uncalled for,” he said.