Delhi-NCR residents beware! Your overaged vehicles to be scrapped under new policy

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Transport Department (DTD) is set to launch a drive to identify vehicles older than 15 years in the national capital region and send them directly for scrapping. The drive is set to be launched from Monday as part of the Delhi government’s new scrappage policy. The move is aimed at encouraging the vehicle owners in the national capital region to scrap overage vehicles.

Giving more information, Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said under the drive, diesel vehicles older than 15 years will be impounded and directly sent to the scrapping yard if they are found plying on city roads or parked in public places.

Under the new initiative, diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles more than 15 years will be banned and scrapped. As of now, only diesel vehicles that are above 15 years old will be picked.

The Delhi government has also empanelled eight scrappers, the list of which is available on the Delhi Transport Department's website. 

From September 27, if our enforcement team finds any such vehicle parked in public or running in the city, it will be impounded and sent for scrapping. The money from scrapping will be given to the vehicle owner,” the Transport Commissioner has said.

The DTD has also issued a notice in this regard which further simplifies the terms and conditions of the Centre’s newly launched transport scrapping policy for older vehicles.

However, the DTD notice states that not all the provisions of the Centre’s scrapping policy will be implemented in the national capital. It may be noted that the Centre’s new automobile policy states that the old vehicles which clear the automated test will be able to operate as usual. 

It further states that commercial vehicles over 15 years old and personal vehicles over 20 years old will not be allowed to operate if they fail the automated fitness test.

As per Delhi govt records, there are 11.9 million registered vehicles in the NCR which is higher than any city in India. An estimated 150,000 vehicles older than 15 years have been de-registered so far, making it illegal to drive them anywhere in the country. 

In addition to this, the government estimates there are 3.8 million overaged vehicles in Delhi, including around three million petrol vehicles and at least 77,000 diesel vehicles.

 Companies like Mahindra have extended support to this initiative, saying that they will buy old cars falling in the above criteria for Rs 8,000- 80,000.