In a new initiative, the Government plans to give cash incentives of up to Rs30,000 for surrender of small vehicles, including cars, and Rs1.5 lakh for over-ten-year-old big vehicles to check pollution and address road safety concerns. Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that a proposal to formulate the new incentive policy is being worked out and would soon be sent to the Finance Ministry for its approval.
“We are bringing a scheme where people will get cash certificates at the time of surrendering their old vehicles. These certificates when produced at the time of new purchase will fetch discounts up to Rs30,000 for cars and up to Rs1,50,000 for bigger vehicles,” said Gadkari. He was speaking at the International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation in the Capital.
“The Government is also planning to provide tax exemptions and other benefits for commercial vehicles like ambulances, fire vans, trucks and buses up to Rs1.5 lakh,” said the Union Minister.
Gadkari said that there is a proposal to create scrap units like that in the United States and other developed countries where old vehicles are recycled. “We will be setting up a dozen of industrial units near ports like Kandla and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which will give cash certificates for accepting old vehicles. These units will be equipped with facilities to recycle vehicles from India and abroad and thereby give a boost to employment and economy.
“There is an urgent requirement to recycle old vehicles as more than 10-year old vehicles are running on roads. The National Green Tribunal in its order too asked for a ban on old vehicles as they are causing environmental pollution,” he said.
“If incentives are given for surrender of old vehicles, there will be better participation from people. With the cash incentives, the decision to buy new Euro 6 compliant vehicles will also be easier,” he said. The Minister urged the vehicle manufacturers to build Euro 6 compliant vehicles as early as possible saying pollution was a big challenge for India.
Gadkari urged foreign manufacturers to build vehicles which can run on bio-fuel like bio-ethanol instead of only on diesel, saying the Government will incentivise such vehicles. “India spends over Rs8 lakh crore annually on the import of petrol and diesel. Efforts are on to promote ethanol in States like Uttar Pradesh which will also hugely benefit sugarcane farmers, he said. Gadkari said efforts are on to make bio-CNG from sewage water.
He added that concerted efforts were being made to check road accidents which cost 1.5 lakh lives annually in 5 lakh such accidents. “The Government is aiming to halve the number of accidents and related deaths in the next five years. We want to bring the figure down to 10 per cent in the next few year,” he said.
“The Government has launched cashless treatment scheme for accident victims up to Rs30,000 in select NH stretches on pilot mode. We are also in talks with policy makers to extend the same across the other highway networks. We should be able to extend the scheme nationally by next year,” the Minister said.
Gadkari stressed the need to promote waterways and said that steps are being taken to de-congest roads with projects like Rs4,000-crore Metrino pilot project to decongest Delhi through driverless pods on the 70-km stretch of Dhaula Kuan and Manesar.
“Under the project fully automatic and driverless small vehicles known as pods will travel suspended from an overhead network,” he said.