15 year old govt vehicles will be scrapped, says Nitin Gadkari

The union minister of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, recently during the opening of the 2022 edition of Agrovision in Nagpur, said that all government-owned cars older than 15 years will be scrapped. All state governments have received a directive to that effect from the Indian government. All types of vehicles, such as buses, trucks, and cars, were included in this. He said that every outdated car will be removed off the roads.

The MoRTH chief stated, “Yesterday, I signed a file under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that all the vehicles of the Indian government which have completed 15 years will be scrapped. I have sent this policy of the Indian government to all the states. They should adopt this policy at the state level.”

Back in February of 2021 India’s scrappage policy was introduced as a way to get older, more polluting vehicles off the road by making recycling simple through authorised scrapyards, raising the cost of re-registering old cars, and introducing lower taxes (and discounts) on registration of new cars if the buyer had scrapped his old car. The idea of the programme, which was loosely based on the Cash for Clunkers programme in the United States, was to persuade owners of used automobiles to junk their cars. Of course, it may also help the nation’s beleaguered car industry.

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However, the public’s response to the policy has been muted thus far. A LocalCircles survey offered a glimpse into automobile owners’ thinking. According to the poll, the majority of owners are not interested in switching to a new car just because their current one has aged. Out of 10,543 car owners, 57% answered that a car should be scrapped based on its odometer reading, or how many miles it has driven, rather than the number of years it has been on the road.

The survey respondents also stated that they intended to purchase fewer automobiles overall since the scrappage policy would make it more expensive to maintain an older vehicle. Starting on April 1st, the cost of fitness tests has also increased in the country. A 15-year-old car used to cost Rs. 600 to be renewed meanwhile after the rise it now costs 5,000 rupees. Additionally, there were price increases for other vehicle-related costs as well.

Although on the flipside the MoRTH minister claims that the newly introduced vehicle scrapping policy intends to reduce pollution levels in the country. At the time of the introduction of the policy, he stated that it will also help the country to lower its dependability on imports of raw materials like copper, steel, aluminium, rubber and plastic. Gadkari further added that the automotive industry currently employs millions of people across the country. And by the end of 2024, this new car scrapping programme will be creating significantly more employment in the nation while also helping to clean up the environment.

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