THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new vehicle scrappage policy announced by the Centre is impractical and unscientific, Transport Minister Antony Raju said here on Saturday. He said the policy of not allowing commercial vehicles to be in service for more than 15 years was impractical in Kerala. If pollution is the problem, steps should be taken to convert vehicles to green fuel to reduce pollution.
But the new policy by the Centre is to protect the interests of major vehicle manufacturers, he said. He said mileage should be taken into account to determine the age of the vehicle. He said that many of the buses of educational institutions are outdated and should be taken into consideration as they have only been in service for a short distance.
As per the policy, the maximum age is 20 years for private vehicles and 15 years for commercial vehicles. So the common people cannot buy a new vehicle by spending huge amounts of money, Raju said.