Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles.
Presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament, Sitharaman said that under voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, personal vehicles would undergo fitness test after 20 years while commercial vehicles would require it after completion of 15 years.
Welcoming the policy, Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister NitinGadkari said the policy will lead to new investment of around Rs 10,000 crore and create as many as 50,000 jobs.
He further said the policy would cover over 1 crore light, medium and heavy motor vehicles.
“The policy would cover an estimated 51 lakh light motor vehicles (LMVs) that are above 20 years of age, while another 34 lakh LMVs are above 15 years. It would also cover 17 lakh medium and heavy motor vehicles, which are above 15 years, and currently without valid fitness certificates,” Gadkari said.
These vehicles are estimated to cause 10-12 times more pollution than the latest vehicles, he said.
Outlining the benefits of the policy, Gadkari said it would lead to recycling of waste metal, improved safety, reduction in air pollution, lower oil imports due to greater fuel efficiency of current vehicles, and stimulate investment.
He said the finer details of the policy will be unveiled within 15 days.
During her speech, Sitharaman said that details of the scheme will be separately shared by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
“We are separately announcing a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles. This will help in encouraging fuel efficient, environment friendly vehicles, thereby reducing vehicular pollution and oil import bill,” she said.