The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an application challenging the blanket age-based ban on vehicles in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), specifically seeking permission for vehicles compliant with Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission standards to operate.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday clarified that there is no blanket ban by the central government on the plying of old vehicles, stating that the curbs in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) are owing to orders from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and substantiated by the Supreme Court.
Days after the launch of the vehicle scrappage policy, Gadkari, in a written response to the Rajya Sabha, insisted that the government’s Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP), or Vehicle Scrappage Policy, does not ban the use of 15-year-old vehicles throughout the nation.
He clarified that Supreme Court has instructed transport departments of NCR states to follow the NGT’s April 7, 2015, order prohibiting diesel vehicles over 10 years and petrol vehicles over 15 years from operating in the region.
The Minister pointed out that the V-VMP policy aims to provide a ecosystem for phasing out “unfit and polluting vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner.” He explained that for private vehicles which are used outside of Delhi-NCR, eligibility will be based on their fitness status, as certified by Automated Testing Stations (ATS). But vehicles registered in the name of government departments will automatically expire with 15 years of use.
In another segment of his statement, Gadkari also gave an update on road safety measures. He told the Rajya Sabha that a total of 13,795 black spots (sites where accidents occur) have been identified on National Highways in the country.
“Of the 13,795 black spots on National Highways (NHs) in the country, rectification short-term has been done on 11,866 black spots and rectification long-term on 5,324 black spots,” Gadkari said, maintaining that the rectification process of black spots is ongoing, with temporary measures at once being initiated wherever the need is felt.”.
