AFP, New Delhi

Cars more than 15 years old will soon be barred from refuelling in New Delhi, the city’s government said yesterday, as part of measures to reduce the Indian capital’s hazardous pollution levels.

New Delhi is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted cities in the world and is blanketed in acrid smog each year.

The pollution is primarily blamed on agricultural burning by nearby farmers to clear their fields for ploughing, as well as factories and traffic fumes.

Diesel and petrol cars older than 10 and 15 years respectively are not allowed to ply on Delhi roads but many have been found flouting the rules.

Delhi’s environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters that the decision to stop fuel for the old cars was made at a “marathon meeting” on air pollution to “find out the diseases and its remedies”.

“We have decided to stop giving fuel to vehicles more than 15 years old after March 31, 2025,” he said.