A total of 935 old vehicles have been seized since January 1, 2021, which have exceeded the prescribed age of 10 and 15 years since registration. The action is in line with the vehicle scrapping policy introduced three years ago, which was aimed at restricting the operation of old vehicles.

Records of the traffic police department show that 133 vehicles were seized till September this year, while 74 and 728 vehicles were seized in 2022 and 2021 respectively. Of the vehicles seized, 226 are diesel and 709 are petrol.

According to a senior police officer, this enforcement targets diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years following the guidelines and norms to tackle pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR). The primary objective of the policy is to set up an environment for phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles to reduce the carbon footprint of the country.

An unnamed official said a large number of vehicles have either been seized or their registrations canceled under the initiative. Owners of such vehicles can avail rebates and discounts in the form of lower motor vehicle taxes, registration fees and incentives up to 25% on new vehicle registration.

In contrast, as per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, there is a provision to levy higher fitness charges on vehicles used for more than the prescribed 10 and 15 years. Violators may face fines including environment compensation fee and road risk fee depending on engine capacity.

SK Sharma, coordinator of the road safety organisation, expressed concern about the violation of safety and pollution norms in the area, noting the absence of scrapping centers and the need to determine the exact number of old vehicles.

Regional Transport Authority secretary Jitendra Kumar said the seized vehicles would be shifted to the scrapping center in Nuh district as no such facility is available locally.