Delhi residents UNHAPPY with old parked cars; files 2,000 complaints in just 2 days

Over 25 lakh vehicles `unfit` to ply on Delhi roads due to `over-age`, Delhi govt receives 2,000 complaints in 2 days against parked old cars from residents, reports PTI.

A National Green Tribunal order of 2014 does not allow vehicles older than 15 years to be parked in public places. Keeping that in consideration, the Delhi transport department issued the number 8376050050 for Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) and market associations to share details about old parked vehicles. Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was taken by surprise when within two days of issuing a number for the purpose, the Delhi govt received nearly 2,000 complaints about old vehicles parked on their premises. The officials stated that they are yet to verify details of the vehicles' registration in their database. 

"Within two days of issuing the number, we received 2,000 complaints from across Delhi. However, the complaints need to be verified. People are sending pictures of vehicles that they feel look old. We have to verify the details of the vehicle's registration in our database to ascertain whether they are actually over-age and unfit for plying on Delhi's roads," a senior official said.

There are around 25 lakh such vehicles in the national capital, he added. "If we find the vehicles unfit to be parked in public places, our teams will be dispatched, and they will impound the vehicles and immediately hand them to the authorised scrapper for scrapping," the official said.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ordered that plying of diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 years and 15 years respectively be banned in Delhi. It had added that the vehicles violating the order would be impounded. Around two lakh diesel vehicles more than 10 years old were deregistered earlier this year.

Last week, the department cautioned people against driving old vehicles in the national capital, saying such vehicles would be immediately impounded.

"Now, it has come to notice that inspite of these orders, such vehicles are still found plying and parked on the roads of Delhi. The enforcement wing of the transport department has been undertaking a robust enforcement drive for impounding such vehicles if found plying or parked on Delhi roads," the department had said. It had further advised people to neither drive nor keep or park such vehicles in public places.

(With inputs from PTI)