Delhi's winter pollution crackdown began with a massive enforcement drive on Sunday, as authorities checked nearly 15,000 vehicles at the capital's border points, turned back 1,539 vehicles that did not meet emission norms, and imposed penalties and environmental compensation totalling Rs 68.4 lakh on the first day of the city's Winter Action Plan.
The drive marked the start of a months-long effort to keep the capital's air from deteriorating into the hazardous levels seen every winter, and it came on the very weekend that Delhi's air quality slipped into the very poor category for the first time this season.
According to data released by the environment department for Sunday up to 5 pm, the total of Rs 68.4 lakh comprised Rs 56.6 lakh in fines for violations of Pollution Under Control Certificate norms, Rs 2 lakh in fines for breaching border entry restrictions, and Rs 9.8 lakh in environmental compensation for dust control violations at construction and demolition sites.
Enforcement teams issued 566 challans for vehicles found without a valid pollution certificate, and inspected 300 sites for compliance with dust norms.
The centrepiece of the first day's drive was the enforcement of the ban on pre-BS-VI vehicles registered outside Delhi. Under the Winter Action Plan, vehicles that do not meet Bharat Stage VI emission standards and are registered outside the capital are barred from entering Delhi until January 31. The Delhi Traffic Police and the Transport Department checked 14,930 vehicles at border points and turned back about 10.31 per cent of them.
Officials issued 127 challans and impounded 62 vehicles in connection with the entry restrictions, collecting Rs 2 lakh in fines.
The vehicles turned back included 140 light motor vehicles, 54 light commercial vehicles, 95 heavy and medium goods vehicles and 34 buses. In a separate category, 1,423 two-wheelers, three-wheelers and other vehicles were checked, of which 789 were turned back and 38 impounded. Authorities also checked 7,279 non-destined vehicles, vehicles passing through Delhi without a destination in the city, and turned back 314 of them, though no challans were issued in that category.
Vehicles running on compressed natural gas, electric vehicles and those engaged in essential services are exempt from the entry ban; 740 such vehicles were verified and allowed entry.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said enforcement teams were monitoring compliance with vehicle entry restrictions, pollution certificate requirements and construction dust regulations. In a post on X, he wrote: "Today 14,930 vehicles checked, 566 PUC challans and 300 sites inspected. Keep PUC valid, follow entry rules and dust norms."
The minister's message underlined the administration's intent to keep the enforcement visible and sustained through the winter months.
The pollution certificate drive was the biggest contributor to the day's fines. Traffic police issued 493 challans worth Rs 49.3 lakh, while the transport department issued 73 challans worth Rs 7.3 lakh, together accounting for the Rs 56.6 lakh collected for vehicles without valid Pollution Under Control Certificates.
Every motor vehicle in India is required to carry a valid pollution certificate, obtained through periodic emission tests, and the winter drive has turned the certificate into a key checkpoint at Delhi's borders and within the city.
The Winter Action Plan restrictions will remain in force for varying periods between November 1 and February 28. The ban on non-Delhi pre-BS-VI vehicles runs until January 31, while dust-generating demolition and outdoor civil construction activities are prohibited from November 1 to January 31, except for designated essential public infrastructure projects.
A complete ban on construction and demolition activities, with specific exemptions, will be enforced from December 10 to January 20. Government and private offices in Delhi must limit physical attendance to 50 per cent from November 1 to January 31, with the remaining staff working from home, while emergency services are exempt. Parking fees at authorised lots have been doubled till February 28, a measure aimed at discouraging private vehicle use.
These measures sit alongside the Graded Response Action Plan, the set of incremental anti-pollution steps triggered when air quality in Delhi-NCR crosses specified thresholds. Stage I of GRAP, which involves measures such as mechanical sweeping of roads, sprinkling water to keep dust from rising, and bans on some kinds of construction and demolition, was already in force, having been activated when the average Air Quality Index crossed 200.
The second, third and fourth stages are activated when the AQI crosses the very poor, severe and severe-plus categories respectively.
The timing of the crackdown could hardly be more pointed. On Monday morning, Delhi's Air Quality Index crossed 300 for the first time this season, reaching 307 at 7.05 am and entering the very poor category, a day earlier than forecast. The deterioration followed a brief spell of relief brought by rain late last week, and it came just a week before Diwali, when firecrackers are expected to add to the pollution load.
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, vehicular emissions and unfavourable weather, including north-westerly winds and calm conditions, are all contributing to the build-up of smog across the region.
For commuters and transporters, the first day of the drive was a warning that the rules will be enforced strictly. Vehicles turned back at the border faced long waits and disrupted schedules, and transporters' associations have in the past complained about the burden of entry restrictions on inter-state movement.
Officials, however, argue that vehicular emissions are among the largest contributors to Delhi's winter pollution and that the entry ban is essential to keeping older, more polluting vehicles out of the capital during the months when the air is at its worst.
The coming weeks will test whether the enforcement can be sustained at the same intensity. The first day's figures, nearly 15,000 vehicles checked, more than 1,500 turned back and fines approaching Rs 70 lakh, show an administration determined to make an early impression. Whether that translates into cleaner air will depend on many factors beyond enforcement, including farm fires, weather and the Diwali festival.
But for now, Delhi has signalled that its winter pollution plan is not merely on paper: it is being enforced at the city's gates, one vehicle at a time.
(Reporting based on The Economic Times and Moneycontrol.)