Criticising the auto policy as “short-sighted”, a Parliamentary panel on Thursday demanded a total ban on import of second-hand cars and used tyres. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on industry, in its report tabled in Parliament, also flayed the policy for not having adequate incentives for upgradation and modernisation of buses considering that they were an indispensable mode of transport for majority of the population.“Despite this, like trucks, buses continue to run with obsolete technology, poor construction and have little to offer in passenger comfort,” it said adding, they also have an unenviable record in safety. The committee wanted a ban on import of second-hand cars as the country was being converted into a “graveyard for the cars or dumping ground for second-hand cars which is eating into the domestic car industry”.If the banning of import of second-hand cars was incompatible to the provisions of WTO rules, the government should come out with “stringent rules and regulations for discouraging the import of second-hand cars,” it said.Terming the policy, which was announced in March 2002, as a mere “expression on the paper”, the committee said it lacked proper planning to achieve its cherished objective of providing mobility and was silent on key concern areas of the automotive industry.
