Delhi plans to ban petrol rickshaws and scooters in effort to cut toxic fumes

Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as "gamechanger" on air pollution.

The Delhi state government has announced comprehensive plans to eventually ban petrol- and gas-powered scooters, motorbikes, and auto-rickshaws in a major regulatory effort to lower the capital’s dangerously high atmospheric pollution. The new system, enacted by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party administration, will phase out the registration of new fossil-fuelled light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, and three-wheelers over the next two years. Environmentalists and clean transport analysts have welcomed the long-term phase-out as a potential turning point for urban air quality, given that vehicular emissions account for an average of 23% of the city’s overall airborne pollutants, acting as the single highest source of toxic winter smog linked to tens of thousands of annual deaths.

Under the stipulations of the newly unveiled policy, the municipal administration will restrict the issuance of new licence plates exclusively to electric small trucks and three-wheelers, widely classified as e-rickshaws, starting in 2027. This restriction will expand to include all new e-scooters and electric motorbikes by 2028, with the ultimate objective of transforming at least 30% of the capital’s multi-million vehicle fleet into zero-emission platforms by 2030. To support the rapid transition and alleviate persistent consumer reluctance, the state government has committed to establishing more than 30,000 public charging points across the city, whilst introducing substantial road and vehicle tax exemptions to incentivise the private purchase of fully electric motor vehicles.

Despite optimism from academic and clean energy sectors regarding the expanding domestic production of affordable electric vehicles, the policy has encountered notable scepticism from the city’s vast transport workforce and independent climate advocates. Auto-rickshaw drivers have voiced serious economic anxieties, pointing out that a two-year transition window is incredibly narrow and warning that long charging cycles could result in severe daily income losses compared to conventional gas-powered fleets. Concurrently, prominent environmental campaigners have argued that the policy remains overly focused on private vehicle substitution rather than public infrastructure, urging the state to prioritise the expansion of green public transport and municipal last-mile connectivity to effectively mitigate traffic congestion and urban dust.