New Delhi: With Delhi’s ban on the entry of non-Delhi-registered vehicles below the BS-VI emission standard now in force, confusion prevails among the public and police personnel over whether the adapted vehicles used by persons with disabilities are exempted or not.Persons with disabilities have pointed to a Nov 28, 2024 order of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which allowed adapted BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles used by persons with disabilities to operate even during higher stages of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).“Considering practical difficulties being faced or likely to be faced by the persons with disabilities in their daily commuting, the request for exemption for use of adapted BS-III Petrol and BS-IV Diesel vehicles even during restriction period under Stage-III of GRAP has been examined in the Commission and considered for permitting plying of such BS-III Petrol/BS-IV Diesel vehicles even under GRAP Stage III & above only as a matter of exception. Enforcement agencies in Delhi-NCR may be, accordingly, advised to permit plying of all such adapted vehicles for personal use of persons with disabilities,” the order stated.However, persons with disabilities claim they are being stopped at Delhi’s borders amid uncertainty over whether the exemption applies under the new winter pollution restrictions.Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and a doctor at GTB Hospital, said he was stopped by a police officer while travelling from his home in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, to the hospital.“I showed him the CAQM order. However, he said it is of 2024. Though he permitted me to go today, he said I won’t be allowed from Tuesday,” said Singh.Singh said he has written to CAQM and Delhi govt’s environment department seeking clarity and exemption for adapted vehicles registered outside Delhi.
