By Muhammed Hashim 
Until now, the decision of whether a vehicle will be scrapped or not depended on its age but that is about to change
The vehicle scrappage policy is finally getting a much-need amendment where the decision to scrap a car will no longer depend on its age. Ever since this policy was announced by the government, people have been quite vocal about its details. In some states, this policy mandated diesel cars older than 10 years and petrol cars older than 15 years to be sent to the scrapyard without any questions. In other states, after 15 years, a fitness test was mandatory to get an extension for the registration certificate. This made things quite complex and confusing.
Vehicle Scrappage Policy Changes
At the recent Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) annual convention, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Secretary Anurag Jain asked the automobile industry to help the government in designing the pollution checks program with a new perspective. He said, “When you introduce a policy that requires scrapping vehicles after 15 years, people question why they have to scrap their well-maintained vehicles. You can’t simply mandate that. We are working on a policy that focuses solely on pollution.” As per this information, the validity of your car’s registration will depend on the level of pollution it emits.
That is what many car owners and industry experts were suggesting as well. If a person has maintained his/her well, then why should it be sent to the scrapyard after a pre-defined duration. Everyone saw the issue in this calculation. Thankfully, we might soon get relief in this regard. Note that while giving your car up for scrappage, you can get discounts of up to 3% on your new car. The government had introduced this offer to encourage people to get rid of their old pollution-emitting cars.
Our View
I agree with this solution completely. In fact, this was the general consensus among most car owners too. It makes sense to judge the condition of a car by its fitness test to see how much pollution it is creating after a certain duration of time. Based on that, the authorities can decide if the registration certificate of a car can be renewed or not. However, the trustworthiness of the car fitness centres must be increased from the current levels for this to work. Let us keep an eye out for more details in this case.
Also Read: 16-Year-Old Makes Electric Bike From Scrap For Rs 15,000
