Only Rs 30,000 for your ten-year old diesel car? Nah!!!

Picture Caption: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari lighting the lamp to inaugurate the “International Conference & Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation”, in New Delhi on August 13, 2015. Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Anant Geete and Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Vijay Chibber are also seen. Picture courtesy PIB

Your ten your old diesel vehicle, whether it is a BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz or a Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai car, could fetch you a financial incentive of maybe up to Rs 30,000 in case you are staying in the National Capital Region (NCR) and are keen to give it up to be shredded and recycled. While the National Green Tribunal is sticking to its decision to ban diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old in the NCR, the government is working on a proposal to offer financial incentives of up to Rs 30,000 for surrender of diesel cars that are more than ten years old and Rs 1.5 lakh for old trucks in order to check pollution and address road safety concerns.

This was stated by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping while inaugurating an International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation in New Delhi. “A proposal to formulate the new incentive policy for surrendering old vehicles is being worked out and would be soon sent for the finance ministry’s approval,” Gadkari stated. The event was organised to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) which was established on August 13, 1965.

The vehicles that are surrendered would then be shredded  at an auto-shredding plant and a certificate of scrappage (COS) would be given to the owner with which he or she can avail excise duty reimbursements, discounts and lower rates of interest on loans. This scheme, according to Motown India experts, is unlikely to find too many takers because ten your old diesel cars today fetch much more that Rs 30,000 and could run up to several lakhs of rupees, depending on the model and make of car and the kilometres plied. Obviously, people would prefer to sell such cars outside the NCR through agents and brokers.

The Minister also stated that the Government is committed to improve the safety of Indian roads. He said a bill adopting the best practices in the world in road transportation and safety standards will be brought soon.

Gadkari said his vision is to make the functioning of the transport sector corruption free and transparent. He added that services should be delivered in a time bound manner. The Minister emphasised on adoption of new technologies such as GPS based system, passenger information system, CCTV cameras, automatic fare collection system and electronic ticket vending. He asked the Indian automobile manufacturers to ensure international standards in vehicle manufacturing. The goal should be good quality at reasonable cost, the Minister said. Gadkari also underlined use of bio-diesel and other alternate fuels to reduce the level of pollution in the environment.

On the occasion, Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Anant Geete said that his Ministry will fully cooperate with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in the development of automobiles that are in line with the Make in India slogan of the Prime Minister as well as environmentally conducive. He also suggested that incentives can be given to manufacturers in this regard.

During the inaugural session, Shri Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways and President, ASRTU said that the need is to work in the direction of environment friendly transport system which is sustainable too. He said that steps should be taken in the direction of manufacturing hybrid vehicles and developing alternate fuels.

National Transport Excellence awards were also presented on the occasion by Gadkari. A coffee table book encapsulating the origin and journey of road transport in India was also released. A short film on public transport was also screened.

The International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation – 2015, a two-day event, discussed various topics such as Sustainable Public Road Transport – Challenges & Future Road Map, Smart Vehicle Technologies & Alternate fuels, Women’s Safety & challenges in Public transport and future of Bus industry in India. Participants included the likes of Scania, Volvo Buses, Eicher, JBM, Isuzu, to name a few.