Ghaziabad will install automatic number plate recognition cameras at more than 135 petrol pumps and deploy seven enforcement teams at Delhi-border routes as authorities prepare to enforce tighter vehicle restrictions from 1 November. The measures are intended to identify vehicles, check compliance with pollution-control rules and prevent restricted commercial vehicles from entering Delhi.
The cameras will scan the number plates of vehicles arriving at petrol pumps. Petrol pump operators will be responsible for operating and maintaining the equipment, according to the report by Live Hindustan – NCR. The move follows an order of the High Court, after an earlier lack of clarity between the supply and pollution-control departments over the monitoring arrangement.
The surveillance system is linked to the rule that vehicles without valid pollution under control certificates will not be supplied petrol or diesel. By recording vehicle number plates at fuel stations, the authorities aim to strengthen monitoring of vehicles covered by pollution-control requirements. The report does not specify when installation at each of the more than 135 pumps will be completed.
The enforcement teams will check vehicles at Delhi-Ghaziabad border points for their emission category and eligibility to enter Delhi. RTO Enforcement officer Dr Siyarama Verma said action would be taken against vehicles violating rules issued under directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management. The teams have been assigned to monitor the restrictions coming into force from 1 November.
A key part of the enforcement will involve commercial goods vehicles in the BS-IV category. Their limited-period permission to enter Delhi ends on 31 October, after which the restrictions will be enforced against commercial goods vehicles other than BS-VI, CNG, LNG and electric vehicles. The restrictions will also cover buses operating under All India Tourist Permits and other service arrangements.
Buses registered in Delhi will remain exempt from this restriction. Separately, vehicles registered outside Delhi and operating below the BS-VI emission standard will face restrictions on operating in Delhi from 1 November to 31 January, according to the report. The provisions are being implemented in the wider context of worsening air pollution across Delhi-NCR and the enforcement measures associated with the Graded Response Action Plan.
The arrangement places two separate monitoring points in the same enforcement chain: fuel stations inside Ghaziabad, where vehicle identities can be recorded, and border routes, where vehicle categories and entry eligibility can be checked. The report attributes responsibility for camera maintenance to petrol pump operators but does not provide details on data retention, access to camera records or the process for resolving errors in number-plate identification.
The seven teams are scheduled to begin enforcing the entry restrictions from 1 November. The restrictions on non-compliant vehicles registered outside Delhi are set to remain in force until 31 January, while the limited permission for BS-IV commercial goods vehicles ends on 31 October.
