Delhi govt gets over 2,000 complaints in two days of old vehicles parked in city

The Delhi government has received nearly 2,000 complaints from the resident welfare and market associations about old vehicles being parked in their premises. These complaints came within two days of issuing a WhatsApp number for the purpose. The Delhi transport department had issued the number 8376050050 for RWAs and market associations to share details about parked old vehicles.

The transport department is yet to verify the complaints. “Within two days of issuing the number, we received 2,000 complaints from across Delhi. However, the complaints need to be verified," a department official told PTI. People are sending pictures of vehicles that they feel look old but now officials will have to verify the details of the vehicles' registration in their database to ascertain whether they are actually over age and unfit for plying on Delhi's roads.

There are around 25 lakh such vehicles in the national capital. "If we find the vehicles unfit to be parked in public places, our teams will be dispatched, and they will impound the vehicles and immediately hand them to the authorised scrapper for scrapping.

In 2018, the Supreme Court had ordered that plying of diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 years and 15 years respectively is banned in Delhi. It had added that the vehicles violating the order would be impounded. A National Green Tribunal order of 2014 does not allow vehicles older than 15 years to be parked in public places.

Earlier this year, around two lakh diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old were deregistered. Last week, the transport department had cautioned people against driving old vehicles in the national capital, saying such vehicles would be immediately impounded. “Now, it has come to notice that inspite of these orders, such vehicles are still found plying and parked on the roads of Delhi," the official said.