Elitist edicts to junk vehicles don’t work

Peoples power has prevailed. The Delhi government has backed down and put on hold its senseless ban on old vehicles, wrongly called ‘end-of-life’ vehicles or ELFs. It was a draconian edict, if ever there was one. CCTV cameras aimed at number plates were calibrated to spot diesel cars over 10 years old and petrol cars over 15 years. These cars were then denied fuel.

The order also allowed imposition of hefty fines and for impounding of vehicles. As the first cars began to be seized at petrol pumps, fear gripped the capital. The future of as many as 62 lakh vehicle owners was on the block. Mercedez Benz owners, who said they had bought their cars at Rs 30 lakh or more, were forced to sell them off at a pittance, often less than Rs 2 lakh.

Uproar followed. The Delhi BJP government had underestimated the pushback. It was so strong, there was no option but to relent.

The 1 July order of Delhi’s Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) was meant to curb vehicular pollution in the national capital. CAQM also cited a string of court orders that had directed it to take action to reduce pollution in the city.

Western norms

In many ways this is an elitist response. It apes norms in more developed countries where routinely old vehicles are scrapped as people upgrade to better and more ‘loaded’ models of cars. However, income levels in these societies are far above those in India. Owning a car in Europe or the US is not a luxury, and roads and other infrastructure allows for efficient vehicular mobility.

In India, individual vehicle ownership is a luxury, and perhaps spurred on because of poor public transport. There are approximately 50 million cars and 260 million two-wheelers on the road today. This translates to roughly 34 cars and 185 two-wheelers per 1,000 people.Income levels being low, renewal of vehicles is not an easy option, with most vehicle owners continuing to pay off loans for 5 to 7 years.

To add to their woes, the life of a vehicle is considerably shortened, and car owners face huge maintenance bills, because of poor roads and infrastructure. It is therefore ironical the state, unable to provide good roads and an efficient public transport, is now calling on people to spend on buying new cars to reduce pollution!Or is all this at the behest of the car manufacturers who want to sell their products faster?