Pre-Bharat Stage norm vehicles should be scrapped, says top official

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Secretary Anurag Jain on Thursday pitched for scrapping of pre-BS era vehicles, especially commercial heavy vehicles, citing pollution and safety issues. Bharat Stage (BS) norms were introduced in the country in 2000.

“If look at pre-BS vehicles, these do so much of pollution. The vehicles which are from before 2000 do pollution 15 times (more). Do you think such vehicles should run when there is so much of problems happening in our country due to pollution,” Jain said.

In case of such vehicles, he said, the fuel and maintenance costs also go up adding that there has been so much change in the safety features of vehicles in the last 15 years.

“There is huge sense to actually scrap your own old vehicle. We are working from a lot of days to incentivise scrapping…If you scrap an old vehicle, you will bring safety, you will save on your fuel,” he stressed.

“So there is a need to think about such vehicles. This I am talking about commercial heavy vehicles,” he added.

In 2000, passenger cars and commercial vehicles met Euro I equivalent India 2000 norms, while two wheelers were meeting one of the tightest emission norms in the world. Euro II equivalent Bharat Stage II norms were in force 2001 onwards in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. He further said that 20 kilometre relaxation under Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is not new and added that, “The enabling provision of GNSS is what we have brought into our rules.

“It is only an enabling provision to allow for GNSS tolling system to come in….What we have published in the law…an enabling framework for allowing GNSS otherwise…the technology does not determine the law that is another firm believe we have. There has been no change in the law.”

The government had earlier said that it is working on a policy for scrapping vehicles to be based on pollution and not on the age of the automobiles.