Days after the scrappage policy on older vehicles in Delhi, Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday clarified that the government has not prohibited the plying of old vehicles. The Union Minister further asserted that it was the National Green Tribunal that banned the use of diesel and petrol vehicles beyond a certain age in the NCR.
Gadkari, while writing a letter to the Rajya Sabha, asserted that the vehicle scrappage policy of the government does not ban the use of 15-year-old vehicles, as reported by news agency PTI.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways further said that the Supreme Court has directed the transport departments of states in the National Capital Region (NCR). As per the court orders, all diesel vehicles more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles more than 15 years old shall not ply in terms of the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dated 7 April 2015.
The Union Minister highlighted that the government has indeed formulated the Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP), or Vehicle Scrappage Policy. The policy has been formulated to create an ecosystem to phase out unfit and polluting vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner.
Gadkari’s letter added that, “Under this policy… eligibility for private vehicles plying in states/UTs other than Delhi NCR is determined based on their fitness status, as certified by the Automated Testing Stations (ATS),” as cited by news agency PTI.
He added, “In respect of vehicles registered in the name of governments, the usage will expire after 15 years.”
However, responding to a separate query, Nitin Gadkari also said that to date a total of 13,795 black spots have been identified on National Highways, and the work to ensure safe on-road transport has been initiated.
The minister said rectification of black spots is a continuous process, and temporary measures are taken on an immediate basis.
His statement in the Rajya Sabha highlighted, “Out of the total 13,795 black spots identified on National Highways (NHs) in the country, short-term rectification has been completed on 11,866 black spots and long-term rectification has been completed on 5,324 black spots,” as cited by PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)