Banning old vehicles not the solution to pollution

The govt has proposed banning commercial vehicles older than 15 years

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Otto Von Bismarck said that laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. These lines are especially true in India. The latest is the case of the government’s plan to amend the Motors Vehicle Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
Because of high level of pollution, the government has advanced the implementation of higher emission norms by two year. In doing so vehicles carrying goods with a life of over 15 years will be taken off the roads by April 2016.

It is clearly a policy that has not been thought through. Nearly 2.7 million trucks could go off the roads, affecting a growing economy that depends heavily on these trucks for movement of goods. Inflation can be impacted as most of the agriculture produce is through these vehicles.

Reports say that 2.7 million trucks registered in 2000 still ply on the roads. This is roughly around one fourth of all trucks on the roads. Around 200,000 heavy commercial vehicle trucks are being added every year and another 400,000 light commercial vehicle trucks.

But is banning the right solution? We already have a rule where the commercial vehicles go through a fitness test every year. Just because the RTOs do not do their job in keeping polluting vehicles off the road does not mean that even well-maintained vehicles should go off.

Further, time criteria are a wrong measure of banning vehicles. Rather the distance travelled by the vehicle, wear and tear, and emissions should be checked and be given more weightage. Vehicles that are not maintained properly or are overused tend to be more polluting even if they are not 15 years old.

As mentioned in the Business Standard report, most fleet operators do not use vehicles more than seven years old as they require a lot of maintenance; such vehicles are generally with single-truck owners or smaller operators, who use it to move goods within the state.

Badly maintained trucks and buses may be one of the prime contributors to pollution but there are other reasons, too. Poor quality of roads and quality of diesel fuel contribute equally to high pollution levels. Congested and badly constructed roads leads to traffic moving at snail’s pace in cities. Continuous braking, accelerating and increased use of clutch causes more pollution than when a vehicle moves at a steady speed. Poorly maintained vehicles are also the main reason for high levels of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is generated due to faulty or leaky exhaust pipes or faulty catalytic convertors.

Further, diesel as a fuel itself is considered to be polluting. Diesel adds nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in the environment. Being heavier than air they stay closer to the ground. Strict norms of fuel produced by refineries will go a long way in bring down pollution. Adulterated fuel is a common occurrence in India that goes largely unchecked. Overloading of vehicles is another leading cause of high levels of pollutions.

Rather than having an incongruous rule which assumes that old vehicles are the main cause of environmental problem, the government needs to take a holistic view of the issue. They can start by providing better roads and have a proper system of checking vehicle quality. Everyone who has driven a vehicle in India knows how easy it is to get a pollution certificate even without actually getting your vehicle checked.

Stopping such practices will go a long way in keeping badly maintained vehicles off the road rather than a ‘throw-the-baby-out-with-the bathwater’ approach. Else it will be too apparent that such a move has been promoted by truck manufacturers.