Parliament Question: Implementation of Vehicle Scrappage Policy

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3762 ANSWERED ON - 25/03/2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF VEHICLE SCRAPPAGE POLICY 3762. SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: DR. ASHOK KUMAR MITTAL: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has examined concerns that Vehicle Scrappage Policy may disproportionately affect small and low-income transport operators by requiring the scrapping of older vehicles despite their roadworthiness and emission fitness; (b) the reasons for adopting an age-based scrappage framework instead of relying primarily on stringent computerized emission and fitness testing; (c) the present status and State-wise availability of Automated Testing Stations and the compensation or incentives offered to vehicle owners; (d) whether Government has assessed the financial burden on small operators who are unable to immediately replace vehicles; and (e) the corrective steps proposed to ensure fairness and sustainability? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI) (a), (b) and (d) The Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has formulated the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Programme (VVMP) that includes a system of incentives/disincentives for creation of an ecosystem to phase out older, unfit polluting vehicles across the country. The policy targets scrapping of unfit and polluting vehicles strictly based on their fitness irrespective of the age of the vehicle. The Government has mandated fitness testing of vehicles through Automated Testing Stations (ATS) established in accordance with the rules notified by the Ministry. These ATSs provides for technology-driven fitness testing of vehicles, byreducing human discretion in ascertaining the road worthiness of vehicles. All vehicle owners, including the small and low-income transport operators, may continue to operate their vehicles after obtaining fitness certificates in accordance with the provisions of Central Motor vehicles Rules ,1989 and Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. However, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in WP no 13029/1985 (MC Mehta vs Union of India) vide order dated 29/10/2018 has directed the Transport Departments of NCR, that all diesel vehicles more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles more than 15 years old shall not ply in terms of order of NGT dated 07/04/2015 passed in O.A. No. 21 of 2014 Vardhaman Kaushik & Ors V/s UOI. Later, vide order dated 12.08.2025 in I.A. No. 175079/2025 filed in the same case, the Hon'ble Court directed that no coercive steps be taken against the owner of the vehicles on the ground that they are 10 years old (in case of diesel vehicle) and 15 years old (in case of petrol vehicle), which was modified vide order dated 17.12.2025 to allow such exemption only to the owner of the vehicles of BS-IV and later emission norms. Also, in case of Government vehicles, GSR Notification 29(E) dt 16.01.2023 provides that Certificate of registration for vehicles owned by Central, State and UT governments and their Departments, Local government (Municipal Corporations or Municipalities or Panchayats), State Transport Undertakings, PSUs and other Autonomous bodies with the Central Government and State Governments, shall not be renewed after the lapse of fifteen years. (c) and (e) The present status and State-wise availability of Automated Testing Stations is provided in the Annexure. If a vehicle is found unfit to ply, it may be scrapped at Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs). Following incentives are provided to the citizens for scrapping their vehicles at RVSFs: - (i) GSR 714 (E) dated 04.10.2021 provides that, in case the vehicle is registered on submission of ‘Certificate of Deposit’, the fee for issue of certificate of registration shall not be levied. (ii) GSR 720 (E) dated 05.10.2021 provides for concession in the motor vehicle tax (upto twenty-five per cent., in case of non-transport vehicles and upto fifteen per cent, in case of transport vehicles) for the vehicle registered against submission of "Certificate of deposit". Provided that this concession shall be available upto eight years, in case of transport vehicles, and upto fifteen years, in case of non-transport vehicles. (iii) GSR 200 (E) dated 26.03.2025 provides for concession in the motor vehicle tax of upto fifty percent against such certificate for all transport and non-transport vehicles which are manufactured as per Mass Emission Standards Bharat Stage I (BS-I) norms and earlier Mass Emission Standard norms and all medium and heavy goods motor vehicles and all medium and heavy passenger motor vehicles which are manufactured as per Mass Emission Standards Bharat Stage II (BS-II) norms. (iv) As per sub-rule (xiii) of rule 10 of Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021, the Certificate of Deposit is also electronically tradeable. These certificates may be traded on the DigiELV platform on ‘https://digielv.com/’.ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) and (e) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3762 ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI AND DR. ASHOK KUMAR MITTAL REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF VEHICLE SCRAPPAGE POLICY State wise availability of Automated Testing Stations State Number of operational ATSs Gujarat 59 Uttar Pradesh 25 Madhya Pradesh 19 Andhra Pradesh 19 Kerala 9 Chhattisgarh 8 Bihar 9 Uttarakhand 7 Assam 5 Jharkhand 5 Maharashtra 4 Karnataka 3 Rajasthan 2 Himachal Pradesh 1 Odisha 1 Ladakh 1 Delhi 1 DNH & DD 1 Haryana 1 Jammu & Kashmir 1 Grand Total 181 *****