Huge burden on 1.5 crore vehicle owners in Telangana

Hyderabad: The new vehicle scrap policy of the Centre will put a huge financial burden on over 1.25 crore vehicle owners in Telangana as they will now have to shell down Rs 7000 to Rs 10,000 if they want to continue to use their vehicles after 15 years.

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has issued a notification for renewal of registration certificate of old vehicles. The new rules would come into effect from April 1, 2022.

According to the sources in the Transport department, there are more than 1.25 crore vehicles, of which, a majority are two wheelers which are more than 15 years old. There are more than 13 lakh vehicles, which are 20 years old and 14 lakh vehicles, which are 15 years old (which fall under the category of commercial vehicles), said a senior official.

Presently, the re-registration of a two-wheeler would cost approximately Rs 850 and if there is a delay and additional amount of Rs 300 would be collected as penalty. But once the new policy comes into effect, the two-wheeler owners will have to spend about Rs 7,000 per annum to bring the vehicle on road.

In case of four wheelers, the present registration cost is Rs 1,200 and a penalty of Rs 500 per day if there is a delay in fresh registration.

Under the new rule, the vehicle owner would have to pay close to Rs 10,000 per annum to reuse the old vehicle. Apart from this, he will have to pay green tax of Rs 285 for two wheelers and Rs 500 for the four wheelers.

The auto unions are against the decision of the government. Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union general secretary M Dayanand said the authorities should remove the age-old vehicles in the government departments like municipal corporations, etc, which do not come for fitness tests.

He said the State government should stop collecting green tax, as there is no relevance now once the new Act comes into force.

In the individual category, the government should remove only those vehicles which pollute and not all vehicles based on the age of the vehicle. There are many who sparingly use the vehicle and are in good condition, said Dayanand.