In light of the vehicle scrappage policy announced recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is pertinent to note that there are over four crore vehicles older than 15 years that are currently operating on roads pan-India, out of which Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu together account for over 138 lakh such vehicles. The digitisation of vehicle numbers reveals that in south India, Karnataka leads with over 70 lakh vehicles that are over 15 years old, followed by Kerala with 34.64 lakh and Tamil Nadu with 33.43 lakh such vehicles. The digitised vehicle records are as per the centralised Vahan database, but these are not available for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The vehicle scrappage policy aims to promote a circular economy, making the process of economic development more sustainable and environment-friendly. The policy will help in phasing out old, unfit vehicles and will come into effect as soon as the registration period of a vehicle gets over, i.e. 15 years for a private vehicle and 10 years for a commercial vehicle. These vehicles will have to then undergo a mandatory fitness test. The policy has received its share of criticism too as there are questions around scrappage and the fitness test.
Multiple tests like brake test, engine performance and others will be conducted before a vehicle is deemed fit or unfit. For renewal of registration certificates after 15 years, a valid fitness certificate will be necessary. The renewed certificate will be issued for a period of 5 years for private vehicles. For a commercial vehicle older than eight years, annual renewal of fitness certificate is mandatory, while for the first eight years, such vehicles are mandated to undergo the test after two years.
A vehicle which fails the fitness test will be declared unfit to ply on the roads and its registration certificate will not be renewed. However, one re-test will be allowed after the necessary repair and re-inspection have been carried out, as directed by the appellate authority. If it fails the retest as well, then the vehicle will be declared an end of life vehicle (ELV). Being a voluntary scheme, the owners of such vehicles will have the option of taking the vehicle to a registered vehicle scrapping facility.
Clinging on to vehicles older than 15 years will make it an expensive proposition for owners as cost of renewal of fitness certificate is likely to go up by 62 times for commercial vehicles and by 8 times for private vehicles. Moreover, states will impose green tax in addition to the road tax which vehicle owners need to pay.
The new policy will come into effect from June 1, 2024 for personal vehicles as per which, such vehicles older than 20 years will be deregistered if they fail the automated fitness test or their registration certificates have not been renewed. Likewise, commercial vehicles older than 15 years will be deregistered from April 1, 2023.