Road Min considering ‘Bharat Stage compliance’ as scrapping parameter; may soon phase out non-BS compliant commercial vehicles

Nitin Gadkari

The Modi-government is set to step up the pedal on enforcing cleaner fuel norms with the Centre expected to finalise a policy related to “phased-scrappage” of old commercial vehicles (CVs) beginning with the vehicles that are Bharat-Stage non-compliant.

Sources indicated that the government is expected to finalise the details of the voluntary vehicle modernisation programme (VVMP) or vehicle scrappage policy in two to three weeks’ time.

“The policy should be ready in 15 to 20 days,” sources said.

Vehicle scrappage policy proposes to replace commercial vehicles that have been operational for more than a decade and do not comply with present Bharat Stage policy (BS-IV) for pollution emission. India has set itself a target to adopt BS-VI, skipping BS-V, emission norm in 2020.

Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms are emission standards introduced by the Government of India to constraint the air pollutants released from internal combustion engine equipment. The first emission norms were introduced in India in 1991 for petrol and 1992 for diesel vehicles. These norms take inspiration from European emission norms.

VVMP recommends to incentivise commercial vehicle (CV) owners and nudge them towards buying new BS compliant vehicles by reducing acquisition cost of new vehicles, provide tax benefits, promote fuel efficient traffic and curb vehicular break-down instances.

In September last year, union minister for road transport, Nitin Gadkari, had said that the government would start a vehicle scrappage scheme as soon as it gets a go-ahead from the GST Council.

“We have requested the finance ministry to find a way out for including the scrapping policy in GST council,” he had said.

Gadkari said that there was an “urgent need” to replace old vehicles as they cause as much as “65 percent” of the vehicular pollution.

According to people close to the development, the government is looking at phasing out old commercial vehicles in phased manner. Effectively, it is looking at BS compliance stage of the vehicles as the parameter to phase-out CVs instead of their age or years of operation.

A senior government official indicated that first segment of vehicles to be scrapped are those that are BS non-compliant.

“We will go by emission stages… First it will be pre-BS vehicles, then BS-I, then BS-II and so on…,” the official said. He, however, said that final call on this is yet to be taken.

Another official, however, did not rule out the “age” parameter.

“Government is looking at phased route… It won’t be immediate scrapping,” said the government official, on condition of anonymity. “We have to give some adequate timelines”.

He said that government may start the scrapping process with commercial vehicles that have been operational for more than 20 years.

“To begin with, the number of operational years will be greater… Much more than 15 to 20 years… It will be reduced gradually,” he said.

Centre’s changed stance on the parameter to judge the scrapping of vehicles assumes importance as VVMP has “faced resistance”, in the past, from industry players saying “age of vehicle” should not be the “only criteria”.

It has been reported that scrapping commercial vehicles beyond 15 to 20 years “will affect over 11 lakh trucks and buses” that are plying on Indian roads.

It is, however, good news for heavy auto-makers like Tata Motors, Ashoka Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra as scrapping old vehicles will generate demand for news trucks and buses.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) has been pushing strongly to implement a scrappage incentive scheme that will push out 15-year-old polluting trucks and buses out of the market and generate demand for new trucks.

Experts, however caution against the policy idea underlining the impact on rural economy.

“Neither number of years matter nor BS norm compliance matters as the whole debate is pollution centric, which is an urban issue,” said S.P Singh, senior fellow, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT), an autonomous research body.

He said that since pollution is a major concern of few urban cities, it is best to restrict movement polluting vehicles in these cities, rather than scrapping the entire line of vehicles throughout the country.

“Out of the entire population of CVs, only a handful has national permits while others have inter or intra state permits. Putting ban on all the vehicles, irrespective of their route, is unfair to drivers operating in rural areas who are restricted to their respective districts,” he said.

He said that local drivers who had, originally, purchased trucks or buses at mere cost of Rs. two to 2.5 lakh will now have to shed at least Rs six lakhs for new vehicles, “increasing capital cost at the lowest stage”.

“Best way is to have annual fitness test or pollution under control regimes for these vehicles,” Singh said adding, “a truck, barely four years old, could be more polluting than a vehicles more than nine to 10 years old”.

Another sector expert, who did not wish to be named, said that the government was “trying to be B-team for these manufacturers” instead of being practically correct.

“There is no merit in the government action,” he said.