Cabinet okays ₹9.5K crore scheme for cleaner mobility in Delhi-NCR

Transporters welcome government support but await clarity on fate of existing fleet

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹9,585 crore two-year scheme to incentivise cleaner mobility in the national capital region (NCR) by providing incentives to bus and truck fleet owners to switch to cleaner fuels, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

 

The scheme is aimed at reducing air pollution in Delhi-NCR, and it will be funded through the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The scheme will be implemented jointly by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

 

The government will, through the scheme, incentivise owners of Delhi-NCR-registered trucks and buses that comply with BS-IV (Bharat Stage IV) or earlier emission norms to replace them with BS-VI or stricter emission-compliant vehicles, or electric vehicles (EVs).

 

 

The scheme, aimed at about 207,000 such vehicles, will see a ₹5,041 crore contribution from the Centre and around ₹1,600 crore in tax concessions from participating states — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The Centre will provide 5 per cent interest subvention on loans for five years, monthly fuel vouchers worth up to ₹4,800 depending on vehicle category, and lump-sum benefits for EV purchases or Certificate of Deposit trading.

 

State governments will waive registration fees and grant up to 100 per cent motor vehicle tax concessions for new vehicles and 50 per cent for used vehicles for 10 years, along with a waiver on pending liabilities of the old vehicles. Moreover, participating auto OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will offer 8 per cent discounts on ex-showroom prices.

 

The government, through a Niti Aayog study last year, had identified that EV penetration had happened largely in two-, three-, and four-wheelers, while the most contribution to pollution was by buses and trucks. The study had also identified gaps in financing which were stopping fleet owners from switching to EVs.

 

According to reports, the transport sector contributes 14 per cent of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, 40 per cent of carbon monoxide (CO), and 63 per cent of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in Delhi-NCR. Within the transport sector, trucks and buses account for 36 per cent of PM 2.5 emissions, while having only 3 per cent of the total fleet.

 

Assessments suggest that a single pre-BS heavy-duty vehicle emits as much as 14 BS-VI-compliant vehicles. Even a BS-IV vehicle emits 2.7 times more than its BS-VI counterpart.

 

While Vaishnaw said that the idea is not to go for any coercive action, the scheme assumes significance since the Delhi government has decided to ban the entry of BS-IV commercial vehicles starting November this year.

 

During a protest in May over the upcoming ban, fleet owner associations had said that the move makes it difficult for truckers to operate, with transport expert Anil Chhikara saying that his analysis of tailpipe emissions had found there is no difference in emissions between BS-IV and BS-VI trucks in low-speed, low-density areas like Delhi.

 

Now, transporters welcome the government support but remain unclear on the fate of their existing fleet. The All India Transporters’ Welfare Association is studying the implications of the policy, and truckers say that the overall incentives come to around 22 per cent, which may not be viable enough considering the cost of replacing their old fleet.

 

For BS-III or older vehicles, scrapping at registered vehicle scrapping facilities is mandatory, while BS-IV vehicles may either be scrapped or sold outside NCR in non-Naional Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities and towns. The scheme’s benefits from the central government will continue for five years.