Kerala opposes Union govt’s vehicle scrapping policy, calls it unscientific

The new National Automobile Scrappage Policy introduced by the Union government is impractical and unscientific and Kerala would protest against it, said state minister for transport, Antony Raju. It is impractical to follow a policy that says that commercial vehicles older than 15 years cannot run their service, the minister said on a Facebook post.

"If pollution is the problem, then measures should be taken to convert the fuel on these vehicles to greener alternatives. But the new policy is designed to protect the interests of the big private players in the industry. You don't decide the age of a vehicle just by the number of years since it was made but by the number of kilometers it has run," wrote Antony Raju.

Several buses of educational institutions have been around for years but they have run very little distance. Such factors should be considered in the policy, Minister Antony said. "As of now private vehicles can only be as old as 20 years and commercial vehicles 15 years. But the policy makers should remember that common people cannot spend a lot of money every few years for a new vehicle. This policy will destroy the common person's dream to own a vehicle," Minister Antony wrote.

He reiterated that the new policy should be re-examined immediately and said that time should be given for vehicle owners to buy new vehicles.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the policy would help in the modernisation of vehicles by removing unfit ones from the roads, reports The Hindu. The report quotes Minister Antony as saying that the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had conveyed its opinion on the policy to the Union government. The previous government too had reportedly suggested that the distance run by a vehicle should be considered for scrappage rather than its age.

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