End-of-Life vehicle
Also called: EoL vehicle, ELV, overage vehicle · Topic: Geographical Issues: Pollution, Urban Waste, Slums and Land Degradation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An End-of-Life (EoL) vehicle is a vehicle that is older than the age limit allowed on the roads. In Delhi-NCR the limit is 10 years for diesel vehicles and 15 years for petrol vehicles. These limits come from orders of the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, not from a law passed by Parliament. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the statutory body for clean air in the NCR, issued Direction No. 89. Under it, fuel stations must refuse fuel to EoL vehicles. The vehicles are spotted by ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras, which read a car's number plate and check how old it is. The vehicle can then be impounded (seized) and scrapped under the RVSF (Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules. The rule matters because vehicle smoke pollutes Delhi's air all year round.
Example
In Delhi, a diesel car registered more than 10 years ago counts as an EoL vehicle. Fuel denial was planned in phases. It was to start in Delhi and 5 NCR districts with heavy traffic from 1 November 2025, then spread to the rest of NCR from 1 April 2026. In December 2025, the Supreme Court said owners of over-age vehicles would be protected from seizure only if the vehicle is BS-IV or newer.
Don't confuse with
- Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms: these set how much pollution a vehicle may give out. EoL status depends only on the vehicle's age. An over-age BS-IV car can still be cleaner than a newer BS-III one.
- Deregistration: this means removing a vehicle from official records. It is only a paper step and does not prove the vehicle has stopped running.