NEW DELHI: Owners of end-of-life vehicles de-registered by the city government may now save their vehicles from landing in a scrapyard. The transport department officials said such vehicle owners can re-register their overage vehicles under the vintage category, though with riders.
Officials said that the owners of such vehicles will not be allowed to ply their cars on the road and will also have to intimate the department in advance in case they take them out for servicing or repairs. The proposal is a part of the policy that the city government is formulating after directions from the Delhi High Court on various petitions filed by vehicle owners whose overage vehicles were confiscated by the transport department for scrapping.
One of the petitioners argued that even though his vehicle has completed the government- imposed age limit, his memories are attached with it and he would like to keep it parked inside his house. The policy is expected to be finalized in a couple of weeks, officials said. As per the rules, four-wheelers beyond a certain age are not allowed to ply on city roads.
The life span for petrol-run four wheelers is 15 years while it is 10 years for the vehicles operated on diesel. The city government de-registered over 54 lakh such vehicles earlier this year and confiscated many under successive drives. Officials said that the vehicle owners can take back their overage vehicles by paying a penalty of Rs 10,000. Under the Central Motor Vehicles Act, only vehicles older than 50 years are considered vintage cars.
“But we can give relaxation to the vehicle owners (having end-of-life vehicles) since the clause of identifying a car as a vintage or overage is left on state governments. They will have to reregister them under the category and give an undertaking that they will not be plied on the roads except during repair or maintenance with prior intimation to us,” a senior department official said.
“Besides, such vehicles should be parked in personal space and not in a community parking area,” he added. According to officials, the department submitted a draft of the policy to transport minister Kailash Gahlot. In a meeting last week, the minister called for some changes and suggestions. Once the policy is finalised and approved, the government will give various options to those who want their vehicles back, including transfer to another city, sale, or reregistration as vintage cars.