Delhi’s current restriction on the entry of non-Delhi-registered vehicles below the BS-VI emission standard has left persons with disabilities seeking clarity on whether adapted BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles remain exempt from enforcement.
The uncertainty has emerged because the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued an order on November 28, 2024, allowing adapted vehicles used by persons with disabilities to operate during higher stages of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The order referred to practical difficulties faced by persons with disabilities in their daily commuting and permitted such vehicles as an exception during GRAP Stage III and above.
Under the order, enforcement agencies in Delhi-NCR were advised to permit the use of adapted BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles for the personal use of persons with disabilities. The vehicles covered by the exemption are those adapted for use by persons with disabilities.
However, commuters say it is unclear whether that exemption also applies under Delhi’s new winter pollution restrictions and the separate entry ban on non-Delhi-registered vehicles below BS-VI. The lack of clarity has reportedly led to confusion among members of the public and police personnel at Delhi’s borders.
Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and doctor at GTB Hospital, told the Times of India that he was stopped by a police officer while travelling from his home in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, to the hospital. Singh said he showed the officer the CAQM order, but was told that the document was from 2024. He was allowed to proceed that day, but was reportedly warned that he would not be permitted to enter from Tuesday.
Singh has written to CAQM and Delhi’s environment department seeking clarification and an exemption for adapted vehicles registered outside Delhi. The issue now rests on whether enforcement agencies have been given clear instructions on how the earlier CAQM exemption interacts with the current entry restrictions.
The reported confusion places the focus on the practical implementation of pollution-control measures at city borders. For persons with disabilities who depend on adapted vehicles for work, healthcare and daily travel, uncertainty at enforcement points can affect access even when an exemption may exist. No clarification from CAQM or Delhi’s environment department was included in the report.
