Fitness age of pvt vehicles likely to be reduced to 10 yrs
Identifying unfit cars and breakdowns as a major cause of traffic snarls and consequent pollution, a High-Powered Committee on air pollution has suggested amendment in Central Motor Vehicle rules for reducing fitness age of private vehicles from 15 years to 10 years. The committee has also suggested outsourcing of private vehicle fitness to private workshops in the national Capital to curb vehicular pollution and traffic jam on roads in the national Capital. lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday accepted the recommendations of the committee.
The four-wheeler boom in the Capital has contributed to the air pollution in a major way. Exhaust from vehicles account for more than 70 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution. According to recommendations, transport department to take up amendment in Central Motor Vehicle rules for reduction of mandatory fitness age of private vehicles from 15 years to 10 years and also to consider outsourcing of private vehicle fitness to private workshops in addition to other amendments.
The panel, though, has remained tight-lipped on whether the periodicity of fitness tests would be changed from the current one-time to annual — as proposed by the Transport Department recently. Suggestions for outsourcing fitness tests to private workshops have been mooted. Presently if one buys a new car, a registration certificate (RC) valid for 15 years is given, after which the vehicle has to be inspected and re-registered by transport officials. This RC, as it is commonly called, acted as a fitness certificate. Earlier, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) headed by Bhure lal had proposed annual fitness test for private vehicles which is in tune with standards followed abroad such as the UK where an annual test is essential for every vehicle aged three years and above. This radical plan to reduce the number of privately-owned unfit cars from the roads and prevent such vehicles from holding up traffic when they break down or cause accidents because of mechanical failures related to poor maintenance. As per Transport Department data, there are 80 lakh vehicles, the largest concentration in the country with around 1,300 new ones getting added daily.