Weeks after the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) ruling that vehicles older than 15 years must leave Delhi’s choked streets, it turns out many such cars are honking in the face of a mandatory rule that allowed them to keep running. Less than 4 per cent of the vehicles registered in Delhi between 1996 and 2000 procured the fitness extension from the Delhi government, data recorded by the Transport department indicates. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, 15-year-old vehicles have to pass a fitness test or go off roads. According to the department’s records, 10,23,008 vehicles were registered in Delhi between 1996 and 2000. While all these would have required a fitness paper to remain in Delhi, as of November, only 39,093 vehicles re-registered themselves after 15 years. If vehicles aged 15 pass the fitness test, they are allowed to ply for another five years. If they fail, they have to be de-registered. But none of this is happening for more than 9 out of 10 of these vehicles, most of which are cars. “Of the 10 lakh vehicles aged 15 or more, 32,469 cars and 6,624 two-wheelers have come for re-registration. Some owners may have already scrapped their vehicles. Some vehicles may not be plying and some may have been taken out of Delhi,” a Transport department official told Newsline. “If such a vehicle is found without a fitness certificate, it is impounded and a fine of Rs 4,500 is levied on the owner for the first offence. If the offence is repeated and the vehicle continues to ply despite being unfit, the fine is doubled,” an official said. With lakhs of vehicles likely to be discarded after the NGT order, the department is exploring the possibility of allowing more scrap yards to be set up. “Even if some owners may want to take their vehicles out of Delhi, they will not be allowed to be driven out of Delhi. They will have to be towed or carried away in containers. If they are towed, they will have to be towed without number plates as they will be de-registered,” an official said.
