India’s vehicle scrapping policy, unveiled in March, has now been launched. PM Modi said it would help phase out unfit and polluting vehicles in an environment-friendly manner.
India has 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, vehicular pollution in India is responsible for nearly 30 percent of carbon emissions making India the third-largest emitter in the world. Old and unfit vehicles in India contribute significantly to air pollution emergency situations, with emissions nearly 6-7 times more than new vehicles. The policy dictates that all automobiles over a certain age should be off the roads in the interest of better pollution control and safety, which new vehicles ensure. Commercial vehicles over 15 years old and personal vehicles over 20 years old are marked for scrapping — it doesn’t matter if they run on diesel or petrol — if they fail an automated fitness test. These will be deregistered; the owner can choose to scrap them, but cannot use them on the road.
Let’s have a look at why such a policy is important for the economy and environment.
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