Delhi Air Pollution: Vehicles Older Than 15 Years To Be Mandatorily Scrapped

Faced with ‘very poor’ air quality in the national capital, the Delhi government has passed an order whereby vehicles older than 15 years (regardless of petrol or diesel) will be scrapped. 

The latest order explains the standard operating procedures to eliminate these vehicles. They are as follows:

• If a vehicle older than 15 years is found parked or plying on the road, the authorities will have the right to tow the vehicle to the scrap yard. 

• The authorised scrap yard will give a fair value for the vehicle and pay the affected owner up front.

• In case the scrapper is not available, the local police team will have the right to tow the vehicle to the pits, from where the scrapper will take it to the yard.

• Should a dispute arise between the vehicle owner and the authorities, the latter has all the rights to contact the nearest police station. 

This might sound like a drastic step, but there aren't a lot of options considering the alarming air quality in the capital. Recently, the Delhi government also banned the entry of diesel/petrol commercial vehicles in the union territory until December 3. 

Up until this rule was passed, petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years were banned in Delhi. The central government has also introduced a Green Tax, whereby private vehicle owners in polluted cities need to shell out extra while renewing their registration certificate.