Telangana is facing difficulty to implement the new Vehicle Policy announced by the Central Government.
According to sources, in Telangana there are more than 1 core 15 year old vehicles and scraping all at once would be a difficult task.
The Telangana Transport Department is finding ways to scrap all the vehicles, especially two wheelers, but unable to find any.
The Transport Department said, for private vehicles, scraping would not be a task, but for public vehicles it would be a hurdle.
Unlike private vehicles which undergo fitness tests and service from time to time, public vehicles hardly come to the RT offices for such tests.
According to a senior RTO officer, there are more than 13 lakh 20 year old vehicles and 14 lakhs 15 year old vehicles (in commercial category) in Telangana.
In regard to this, several Auto unions had told the Government to run an awareness campaign and convince the people to give up using their old vehicles.
Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union General Secretary D. Venkatesham suggested 100 % scrapping of commercial vehicles.
D. Venkatesham said, “All the vehicles of Municipal offices, RTC buses and auto rickshaws must be declared non usable after its age limit as this would be in the public interest. In the case of private vehicles, only those vehicles must be scrapped which create pollution. Why does the government receive green tax while its policy is to ban the pollution creating vehicles.”
He said, “Out of the total number of autos, only around 20,000 are over 15 years old. We have fitness tests every year and permits are renewed too every couple of years. We will be happy to support the government’s initiative provided they ensure that auto drivers get a fair price for old vehicles which they scrap. A fixed price needs to be set to ensure auto drivers are not at a loss. For those who scrap their autos, the government should also provide subsidies or concessions while buying new vehicles. This will encourage more to be part of the new policy.”
Extending support to the new initiative, Shaik Salauddin, a National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) said the vehicle owners are ready to scrap their old vehicles, but the State Government should announce a few schemes like incentives, loans and other ways helping them to buy a new vehicle.
Mr. Shaik said, “Transport workers are committed to the preservation of the environment and curbing of pollution. But to off-set the financial setback for the owner-driver transport workers, the Government should provide significant incentives, loans, and subsidies for purchase of new e-vehicles for commercial purposes. This will ensure a smooth and just transition towards a future safe and environmentally friendly road transport system.”
The Federation also said that the central government should direct the state governments to reduce levy of statutory liabilities like Octroi, Sales-tax, Vehicle Registration fee, Road Tax etc.
The new vehicle policy is a step to reduce pollution and to enhance air quality in India.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, during the Union Budget 2021-2022 announced the new amended Vehicle Policy.
