Cabinet Clears Scheme to Replace Old Trucks and Buses in Delhi-NCR

On June 3, 2026, the Union Cabinet approved a two-year clean mobility scheme for the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) aimed at cutting air pollution. The scheme offers incentives to replace older trucks and buses with vehicles that meet BS-VI or stricter emission standards. Government-owned vehicles will not be covered. BS, or Bharat Stage, is the set of national emission norms; while BS-IV limited pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter, BS-VI tightened these limits and pushed cleaner fuels and better onboard diagnostics.

The scheme specifically targets older commercial vehicles, including those that meet only the BS-IV norm. The government estimates it will benefit about 2.07 lakh owners — roughly 1.91 lakh trucks and over 16,000 buses. Scrapping is compulsory for BS-III and older vehicles, while BS-IV vehicles may either be scrapped or sold outside the NCR in areas not covered by the National Clean Air Programme. Earlier programmes, such as PM-eBus Sewa, encouraged a shift to electric or BS-VI buses, but this scheme focuses on retiring the most polluting trucks and buses.

Delhi-NCR suffers from severe air pollution, with major sources being transport, dust, industry and biomass burning. Their share changes with the season because weather affects how pollutants spread. The region's vehicle fleet is very large at about 2.98 crore and growing around 7% a year. An expert panel set up by the Commission for Air Quality Management attributed roughly 23% of winter and 19% of summer fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution to transport. Within transport, trucks and buses cause a disproportionate share of harmful PM2.5 emissions despite being a small part of the fleet.

The logic of targeting old commercial vehicles is that they pollute far more than newer ones. Official estimates suggest one pre-BS-norm heavy vehicle can pollute as much as 14 modern BS-VI vehicles, and even a BS-IV vehicle emits about 2.7 times more than its BS-VI counterpart. Data submitted to the Supreme Court showed that of about 1.61 lakh buses in the region, only around 34,000 met BS-VI norms while over 1.26 lakh fell in the pre-BS to BS-IV range, underlining the scale of the cleanup needed.

For exam aspirants, the scheme is a clear example of environmental governance, the Bharat Stage emission framework, the role of bodies like the Commission for Air Quality Management, and the link between vehicular emissions and public health in the National Capital Region.