Minimum roadworthy age for government and private vehicles
set at 15 years and 35 years respectively
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 1: The State Cabinet on Thursday approved the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, under which some 13,000 vehicles will be off the roads in the first phase.
“We will now start addressing concerns relating to air pollution caused by inefficient and old vehicles. However, taking into account the overall economic condition of the state, we will address the matter by first taking off government vehicles which are 15 years and older,” Cabinet Minister and MDA 2.0 spokesperson Paul Lyngdoh said after the meeting.
“This will mean about 5,000 government vehicles will come under this policy to be off the roads,” he said.
“The major benefits are to allow the government to reduce pollution, fuel imports, and recycle raw materials. At the moment, Shillong has roughly 2,76,262 vehicles, followed by Tura and Jowai,” he said.
“Once notified, the scrappage policy will come into effect,” he added.
Talking about private vehicles, Lyngdoh said: “We will first limit the policy to vehicles 35 years and older. There are roughly 8,000 such vehicles.”
“Altogether, 5,000 government vehicles and 8,000 private vehicles, or a total of 13,000 vehicles, will be off the roads according to this policy,” he said.
“There were many options considering the economic levels of our people, unlike Delhi and Assam, which are stricter on the age of vehicles. In Delhi, the cap is 15 years. We thought of vehicles 15-20 years or 20-25 years for private vehicles, but stipulated only 35 years, which is a liberal step,” he said, justifying the move.
“The vehicles will be issued with a certificate of deposit. The rebate for non-transport vehicles is up to 25%, while transport or commercial vehicles will enjoy a 15% rebate of motor vehicle tax. This concession shall be available up to 8 years for transport vehicles and 15 years for non-commercial vehicles,” Lyngdoh said.
When told many private vehicles were still fit, he said, “We acknowledged this to fix 35 years in respect of private vehicles. We have been very liberal because if you go to other states, Delhi, for instance, cars older than 15 years are not considered roadworthy.”
When asked about heritage buses in Shillong, he said, “That signature can be retained by new vehicles, too. Old vehicles will impede traffic movement and add to air pollution.”