Barely a fortnight after Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that a Vehicle Scrapping Policy, that has been aimed at curbing rising vehicular pollution in the country, has reached the final stages of fruition. The Policy bill which has now been approved by the Finance ministry will now move to the GST council for final approval. The Document which contains the particulars of the government’s scrappage policy for 15 year old commercial vehicles is aimed at the rising pollution created by vehicles in the country.Now the scrappage policy which is being implemented by the Road Transport and Highways Ministries as the initial phase of the Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP). Once reviewed and approved by the GST council the amount of the amount of concession that state governments will offer.According to a PTI source in the ministry “Finance Ministry has approved the Vehicle Scrapping Policy. A Cabinet note is getting prepared. Now it will go in the GST Council for fixing concessions by the states and the Centre,”
Your 15 year old vehicles will be scrapped from 2019: Delhi Govt
Speaking on the implementation of the policy Minister Road Transport and Highways; Nitin Gadkari said that the policy was needed to curb vehicular pollution, considering the annual 22 per cent growth rate of automobile industry that will require an additional highway lane every third year, costing Rs 80,000 crore. Adding that the move would propel India into the future as a hub for the automobile industry. Insisting that prices were bound to get cheaper as scrap could be used for production of autoparts among other things. Earlier, the Road, Transport and Highways Ministry had sent a concept note on Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) to the Committee of Secretaries on creating an ecosystem for voluntary scrapping and replacement of old polluting vehicles.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the PMO is very keen on the proposal and according to reports that they have not shared. 65 percent of the pollution is caused by heavy vehicles that are more than 15 years old. As per an earlier proposal, a relief of about Rs 5 lakh was to be provided to people who purchase new commercial vehicle of about Rs 15 lakh, if they surrender their over 15-year old commercial vehicles. Adding in that, Rs 10,000 crores will be added in tax revenue on the assumption that the biggest beneficiary of the shift will be the Automobile industry. According to the draft, Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) policy has proposed to bring under its purview vehicles bought on or before March 31, 2005, numbering about 2.8 crore.
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