Delhi begins deregistering 15-year-old diesel vehicles

The Delhi Transport Department has started mandatory deregistration of over 15-year-old diesel vehicles, including goods carriers and personal vehicles.

This drive follows the latest National Green Tribunal (NGT) order passed on July 20, 2016 seeking 10-year-old diesel vehicles to go off the roads in Delhi-NCR. NGT notified the Delhi transport authorities to initially kick-start the drive with over 15-year-old diesel vehicles. The NGT order prohibits de-registered vehicles from being parked in public places.

K K Dahiya, Special Commissioner (Planning and Project) of the Delhi State Transport Department, told our sister magazine Autocar Professional that the capital has 191,000 diesel vehicles, of which 85,000 are goods carriers and the rest, personal and non-goods vehicles.

Since the deregistration drive commenced formally this month, the transport department has notified the Delhi Police about 1,000 diesel vehicles which are over 15 years old.

The road transport department has also deregistered some personal vehicles which were reregistered after completion of 15 years. Necessary action will follow to impound these vehicles.
“We have identified 21 police stations in Delhi for sending the deregistered vehicles from where they will be forwarded for scrapping. We are still working out which scrapping agency the automobiles should be sent to,” said Dahiya. Thus far the Delhi police have impounded 50 diesel vehicles. The transport department identifies the old vehicles from the registration list at the RTOs.
In the case of trucks and buses, the commercial vehicles have to undergo a fitness certification after the first two years and subsequently every year to enable them to ply on the roads.