[Pretorian]

Just got the fitness done (in Hyd) for my 15 yr old WagonR, it still runs like butter (touchwood), regularly serviced only in AuthMarutiSvcCentre, changed most parts when needed, currently runs on Michelin tyres.

My current comprehensive insurance gives me an IDV of 77k, and they simply want to scrap it!

My rides are mostly on motorcycles, the wagon is used only when i need to carry stuff around, take my dog out, errands in the city and till date its only done 80k. I don't see why i need to plonk in 10 big lakhs to replace a well functioning car which is used minimally.

Hopefully the courts account for all these, may be put in a mandatory fitness test every year, if need be, before they make this applicable for all states.

[ashokabs]

According to research only about 12% approx of atmospheric pollution is coming from automobiles and other fuel driven vehicles. We should do an A, B.C analysis and select the A item on the list of pollutants.

[AZ911]

I think there was a case already filed challenging this which was admitted by SC in Dec, 2019. Does anyone know what the progress on that way?

With lockdowns and financial slowdowns, coupled with cars not even used much for a year and a half, this stupidity will make the common people suffer a lot. This suffering would then become tenfold once the stubble burning starts and Diwali crackers become a national issue.

[pkk077]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

The three actions that did reduce pollution in Delhi-NCR were the building of the Metro and the Supreme Court led action on converting auto rickshaws to gas and moving polluting industries out of the city.

The fourth and more recent one is the opening of KMP (and may be a few other) peripheral expressway so vehicles not destined for Delhi can bypass it.

Also, the CNG rule is not just for auto rickshaws, it's for all commercial passenger vehicles. That's why if you call an Uber for airport drop, you will have to put the suitcase in co driver seat :(

[vtecblast]

All I can say is "wow". I haven't been able to understand this policy from the very start. These people won't ban the already most polluting state transport cars, won't try to ease out the queues on CNG station where 100s of vehicles are switched On while waiting due to A/C and won't try to clear the clutter of traffic on roads where people literally never shut their vehicle off. But, they'll ban the cars which may be polluting more.
My observation has always been cars registered under Delhi-NCR which have crossed their 10/15 year mark, are made to run in hilly areas without valid registeration because of easy behaviour of traffic police here. So it's similar to passing the trash not cleaning it.

My problem: We have a MSIL WagonR (2007) which is registered under Ghaziabad RTO, since the vehicle was for my grandparents initially. The car didn't run more than 6,000kms till 2018, after the death of both of my grandparents the car was bought to Dehradun to us for our use. The car has recently completed 23,000kms mark on the ODO which is close to a brand new condition vehicle (owning to reputation of these engines) The car is scratch less with original paint all around. The G10B engine has been put to run more as a beater car and with the petrol prices rising sky high it is used more due to its reputable in city mileage of ~19kmpl (by tank to tank method). The car is still registered under UP-14 tag. We had to get its NOC and had to get it transferred to Uttarakhand because it's going to complete its 15 year mark in October,2021. As per some sources, we have come to know that NOC can be issued only before 6 months from the expiry of RC. Due to Covid's second wave we weren't able to visit the Ghaziabad RTO.
Questions:
1. Will there be any relaxation of deadline of NOC issue we'll get because of Covid situation?
2. Or is the final outcome would be we have to scrap the vehicle after October?
I would love to hear your opinions, and please let me know if anyone has any information regarding the same.

[armaan_singh]

I spoke to my sister last night and she told me her new neighbours recently moved from south delhi to Gurgaon because they didn't want to give up their 320D, since it had technically expired in Delhi. They also have a Scorpio of the same vintage.

As per my understanding, the same rule applies in Gurgaon because its NCR but as per them it isn't enforced or implemented.

Shows a new level of love for cars I guess.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by armaan_singh

I spoke to my sister last night and she told me her new neighbours recently moved from south delhi to Gurgaon because they didn't want to give up their 320D, since it had technically expired in Delhi. They also have a Scorpio of the same vintage.

As per my understanding, the same rule applies in Gurgaon because its NCR but as per them it isn't enforced or implemented.

Shows a new level of love for cars I guess.

The Rule is applicable Across NCR, however cops in haryana are a bit lenient.
That said, the rule is absolutely Frustrati

[amit162]

As far as my understanding goes. in the larger picture, the automobile lobby is at work. They tried this in UK and US earlier, but could not succeed. Our country has been found more amenable to this sort of lobbying.

[revmaxx]

Is there anybody in this forum who has self experienced a failed PUC test or know of any such incidents? My guess is that a 15 year old petrol car will easily pass the fitness test. So what's the real idea behind this scrappage policy?

[madhavrchandra]

I always have a doubt regarding this policy. It would be great if someone explains it. If these cars are scrapped, there would be a lot of wastes left. Right? That is also pollution. Scrapping a car means forcing someone to buy a new car. That will require the use of more natural resources and manufacturing will also cause pollution. Most of the middle- class families use their car for the long term. People like us buy 4-5 years used cars and then how long can the car be used? Only for a short period. My opinion is that more EVs shall be promoted and more subsidies for EV customers as well as EV manufacturers.

[TrackDay]

Would like to see how much effect this policy will have on the environment in the future. Wonder if one will be able to see clear skies, butterflies and doves and people being able to breathe pure clean air after all the 10-15 year old vehicles are taken off the road It is very clear that changing cars every now and then is more harmful for the environment in the longer run. The better measure would have been to get a strict pollution emission testing in place. Take off all the vehicles that pollute above the set limit.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by revmaxx

Is there anybody in this forum who has self experienced a failed PUC test or know of any such incidents? My guess is that a 15 year old petrol car will easily pass the fitness test. So what's the real idea behind this scrappage policy?

In Delhi-NCR, if you turn up at a pollution testing centre with a 15 year old petrol car, they outrightly refuse to even connect the emission test device! They don't even bother to check if the car is meeting the standards or not. Before the ruling came in, my then 17 year old Ford Ikon ALWAYS passed without any issues. Only once did it fail, and that too because of a choked air filter and dirty injectors.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

To put things into perspective, only 0.075% of the cars that had to be scrapped according to the order have been scrapped!
This clearly goes to show that very few people have been scrapping their cars. The question that arises then, is that where did all the cars go?

Probably abandoned, sold to rural hinterlands without papers, sent to the owners native place or even preserved as driveway ornaments (like my Ikon) are a few possible scenarios.

A thriving market used to exist for luxury diesel cars from metros like Delhi to Kerala. Mercs, BMWs and Audis. Also for Skoda etc. Given the price differential between used luxury cars in Kerala versus that in Delhi, Mumbai etc it used to be very lucrative and a relatively low entry point to luxury car ownership.

However the trend is reduced now as I heard that the Kerala RTO insists that re-registration in Kerala will entail paying road tax based on the cars's original price when new. Which negates any saving you get.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Mafia]

Clearly, the best way to reduce vehicular pollution is to have robust public transport, nonfossil fuel vehicles, and most importantly reduce traffic jams.

If you look at a city like Bangalore with the worst traffic jams in the world(Pre-lockdown), 40% of the pollution can be reduced by having efficient roadways which work.

The ban hardly makes a real-world difference. It seems to be a bureaucratic decision to increase corruption.

The real-world effect is the re-sale values plummet. The end loser is the tax-payer as usual.

[tajender]

Pollution in Delhi is actually a big concern, but, so are law and order, healthcare, and a million other issues. And like those other issues, the burden of such laws would always be put on the middle class.

The situation in Delhi has worsened because of multiple factors and not just cars. Slow and stuck traffic due to bad roads, unruly driving, hogging of roads by roadside vendors, archaic road infrastructure, mile long marriage and religious processions and lack of traffic sense are major contributors to vehicular pollution.

Vehicular pollution is just one factor, the biggest contributor is dust, which is due to rampant construction and felling of trees and no government wants to bring up guidelines around that. Any roads you take will have mounds of sand / dirt on the road edges, which becomes airborne with any vehicular movement.

Then there is air pollution caused by unauthorised factories and that is the other major factor, but no one talks about it. There are full scale industrial units operating out of residential properties, using diesel operated machinery and also blocking roads with the raw material, finished product and in some cases even dumping waste on roads. No one wants to talk about it because it is generating revenue for everyone, police, MCD, state and central government as everyone gets paid to turn a blind eye.

Such businesses in turn use the "Chota Hathi" and other derivatives of auto-rickshaws converted to transport their goods, which can hardly go beyond speeds of 40 KM/H due to their poorly maintained small engines overloaded with too much weight, which operate on CNG on paper, but use excessive amount of petrol which is not even fully burnt. Not to say that they are utterly noisy too, but noise pollution is not something we are concerned about. Because of their slow speeds, they cause congestion and people who drive regularly in Delhi, would know that these so called Chota Hathi drivers are so bloody disconnected from the world which they bring to a standstill behind them, that they never ply in left lane, because it is a shameful act according to them to drive in left lane. Same is the case with so called Grameen Sewa service.



Then there are other forms of jugaads, which started their life as cycle rickshaws and carts, but had scooter / motorcycle engines fitted into them. No regulation applies to them and one does not even needs any form of license to drive them, because you guessed it right, they are not registered and those who might say that these are one offs are the people who have not visited Delhi. These things pollute because they are ill maintained 2 stroke powerhouses.



There are a million other reasons for pollution in Delhi. However, the reasons that the car owners are targeted is the fact that they are, well mostly, middle class people and it easier to hurt their interest as they do not have a say in the system. They are taxed at every level and are a soft target, so the mindset here is to burden them even more and there is nothing wrong in that.