New Delhi: With the eagerly anticipated national vehicle scrapping directive, the Delhi government wants the criteria for scrapping or marking a vehicle in the capital to be fitness rather than age as in the other country. The state government will appeal to the Supreme Court to review its 2018 order banning 15-year-old gasoline and 10-year-old diesel vehicles from driving in Delhi-NCR, unless national policy provides for a separate provision for the capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday introduced the national vehicle dismantling policy with the aim of removing unsuitable and polluting vehicles. Unlike Delhi-NCR, where driving a 15 year old gasoline or 10 year old diesel car can result in punitive action with a fine of up to Rs. 10,000 or confiscation and scrapping of the vehicle, national policy requires 20-year-old cars and 15-year-old commercial vehicles to be scrapped, and only if the vehicle does not pass the suitability test.
“If the focus of national scrapping policy is on fitness, why should the Delhi people suffer from it?” Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot told TOI. “As soon as the policy is notified, we will investigate it and see if it relates to Delhi status and the court order or not. Of course, if we find it is not dealing with it, we are free to go to the court and request a review of the order, ”he said.
The Supreme Court banned 15-year-old gasoline and 10-year-old diesel vehicles from driving in NCR on October 29, 2018 and ordered the Transportation Department to announce that such vehicles will be confiscated if found driving. The top court had described the pollution situation in Delhi-NCR as “very critical” and said that a list of such vehicles should be published on the website of the Ministry of Transport.
In 2018, the transport department issued “Guidelines for the scrapping of motor vehicles in Delhi” and also approved the first scrap machine. Although the number of approved scrappers is now five, the number of scrapped end-of-life vehicles is only around 3,000 so far.
Although the national guideline allows vehicles with appropriate suitability, even if they are older, this guideline will not be able to be implemented due to the order of the Supreme Court in Delhi. Delhi government officials said they had received many inquiries about the new policy from owners of vehicles nearing the end of their life. You will be asked what it means for those whose vehicles are in a well-maintained and roadworthy condition. The government wants to inform the court of the situation and request a review of its order.
Although the centre’s new policy allows an old vehicle to be re-registered after it has passed proficiency tests, the cost of obtaining a medical certificate for a 20 year old vehicle is expected to be high.
