Government will soon come out with a policy offering financial incentives of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on surrender of vehicles that are over 10 years old to check pollution and ease traffic, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.
A proposal in this regard is being formulated and the Finance Ministry's nod will be sought on it, he said.
"We are bringing such a scheme that if you sell your old vehicle you will get a certificate which on being produced at the time of new purchase will get you a discount of up to Rs 50,000.
"For small vehicles like cars it will be up to Rs 30,000. Besides, there will be exemptions in taxes and total benefits for big vehicles like trucks will be up to Rs 1.5 lakh," Gadkari said on the sidelines of an global conference on public transport innovation here.
The plan is to set up 8-10 industrial units near ports like Kandla which will not only give certificates for accepting old vehicles but would recycle vehicles from India and abroad and thereby give a boost to employment and economy.
"It is a very beneficial industry and would create huge employment," he said, adding that there is an urgent need to recycle as more than 10 years old vehicles were running on roads with old technology which lacks not only safety norms but creates pollution.
"We are going to recommend the scheme to the Finance Ministry... If incentives will be given, it will be easy for people to surrender their old vehicles and get new vehicles of international specifications...may be of Euro 6 standard," he said.
He urged the manufactures to build Euro 6 compliant vehicles as early as possible saying pollution was a big concern for India.
"Already National Green Tribunal has given a decision on pollution.... Manufactures now seeking time for four to five years. Manufacturers can as early as possible go to the mark of Euro 5 and 6 and I suggest if they could go for Euro 6," he said.
Also he called upon foreign manufactures to supply bio-fuel based quality buses at economical prices given the fact that India is a huge market for them.
"We have 1,50,000 buses here. In your country you have 2,000-4,000 buses. Buses here are in lakhs and given the economic viability you can consider supply good quality vehicles at reasonable prices," he said.
Also he asked manufactures to build vehicles based on bio-fuel like bio-ethanol or diesel instead of only diesel version saying government will incentivise such vehicles.
India spends a huge Rs 8 lakh crore annually on import of crude, and to check it efforts are on to promote ethanol in states like Uttar Pradesh which will also hugely benefit farmers, he said.
Gadkari said efforts were on to make bio-CNG from sewage water.
Addressing the convention, which had representation from states, Gadkari said the new Road Transport and Safety Bill has been formulated to end corruption and boost transport sector and states cooperation was needed for it.
"I want to urge all ministers from states here that we will not claim any revenue share from states while reforming the system. We need their cooperation to make the system corruption-free, transparent and timebound," he said, adding that as per estimates 30 per cent of the driving licenses in India are "bogus".
The government will set up 2,000 centres across the country on public-private-partnership mode which will not only issue licences based on computerised systems of driving tests but also fitness and pollution certificates for vehicles.
"We will set up driving centres particularly in rural areas there will be no human decision making system," he said.
He also announced that the government is committed to end "permit raj" and would ensure barrier free seamless movement of inter state permit holders of goods vehicles while urging the stakeholders to cooperate in e-governance to make the system 'corruption-free'.
"Permit Raj which is causing great hardships to people should be abolished," he said.
For tourist vehicles also there is several incentives, he said, adding that the government is hopeful of introducing the Road Transport and Safety Bill in the next session of Parliament.
"Act is ready with the rules. we want to change the total present situation people are facing. Ministry has formulated the Road Transport and Safety Bill and in the next Parliament session we will succeed to introduce this Bill. I am expecting that next time in Parliament session it will be passed," he said.
He also added that concerted efforts were being made to check road accidents which cost 1.5 lakh lives annually in 5 lakh such accidents.
Gadkari also stressed the need to promote waterways and said that steps were also on to de-congest roads which included a Rs 4,000 crore Metrino pilot project to decongest Delhi through driver less pods between 70km stretch of Dhaula Kuan and Manesar.
Under the project fully automatic and driver less small vehicles known as pods will travel suspended under an overhead network.
He said presently about 96,000 km of National Highways, which were only 2 per cent of the total roads were catering to 40 per cent of the total traffic and the government plans to double them (highways).
Published 13 August 2015, 10:16 IST