Fact Check: Ban on old diesel and petrol vehicles has not been lifted in Delhi, viral claim false

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A post is being shared on social media claiming that the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi has been ended. According to the claim, now everyone can renew the registration certificate by paying a fee of Rs 5000. This notification has been issued by the government, the post said. Along with this, a letter is also being shared.

Vishvas News investigated and found the viral claim to be false. No such notification and letter has been issued by the government. The ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles by NGT remains in place. In the viral letter, the rules for the purchase and sale of second-hand vehicles have also been explained.

Claim:

Facebook user SMG News Network shared the viral letter with the caption, “NGT lifts ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles. Get your 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol car’s RC renewed by paying a fee of Rs 5000. Notification issued by Government of India.”

The archived link of the viral post can be accessed here. Other users are also sharing the viral picture with a similar claim.

Investigation

To know the truth of the viral claim, we started searching on Google with related keywords. We could not find any credible news report regarding the claim.

Vishvas News scanned the website of Delhi Transport Department and found a notice regarding the ban. According to the order issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles continues in Delhi. These are for all vehicles used by common people as well as government officials. This rule has been implemented to reduce pollution in the state.

Taking the investigation forward, we started searching about the viral letter. We found this letter on PIB’s website. According to the information given, this letter is about the sale of second-hand vehicles.

In this letter, the rules for the purchase and sale of second-hand vehicles have been explained. This letter was issued on December 22, 2022, by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In the letter, some new rules related to the sale of second hand vehicles have been listed by the ministry. According to the information given, the purpose of making these rules is to stop illegal buying and selling.

During the investigation, we found a tweet related to the viral claim on the official Twitter account of Vinkesh Gulati, Chairman, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. Sharing the viral letter on February 13, 2023, he has termed the claim as false. He wrote in the caption in English that the ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles is still effective. It hasn’t been removed yet, he said asking people not to trust any such message.

According to a report published by News 18 on March 14, 2022, this order of NGT is not for the whole country, but only for some states. In many states like Maharashtra and Bihar, old vehicles can be re-registered and used. Earlier, the car driver had to pay Rs 600 for registration, which was increased to Rs 5000.

We contacted Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra for more details. He told us, “The viral claim is false. This rule implemented by the government and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has not been removed yet. If it will be removed, the government will announce it. Don’t believe any such post viral on social media.”

In the next phase of the investigation, Facebook user SMG News Network was investigated for sharing fake messages. The user is followed by 42,836 people on Facebook.