Vehicle Scrappage Policy Could Soon Be Based On Fitness: MoRTH Secretary Anurag Jain

The government is working on a new scrappage policy for motor vehicles that would pertain to their fitness and not necessarily age, according to a report by ETAuto. Anurag Jain, secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said this will help remove vehicles that are not maintained properly. 

Speaking at a conference organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Jain said, “When you come out with a policy that scrapping is mandatory after 15 years, people come back to us with a question. If I have maintained my vehicle well, why do you want to scrap my vehicle?”. 

According to the report, the ministry is studying the issue from the point of view of pollution and not the age of vehicles. Currently, all petrol vehicles older than 15 years and all diesel vehicles older than 10 years need to be scrapped, regardless of their condition and fitness, as per the government’s policy. 

Buyers of new vehicles scrapping their old cars can avail a discount of 5 per cent on new cars. Additionally, registration fees for new cars will be waived against the deposit of vehicle scrapping certificates.