‘Give up 11-yr-old cars; get 8-12% sops on new ones’

Looking to push nearly 28 million over 11-year-old polluting vehicles off-roads, the government has proposed incentives worth 8-12 per cent of the cost of a new vehicle for surrendering the old ones. The benefits under the proposed voluntary vehicle modernisation policy will come in three forms — scrap value from the old vehicle, a special discount by the automobile manufacturer and a partial excise duty exemption. Inviting comments within a fortnight from general public and all stakeholders on the draft policy, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said the “Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Plan (V-VMP)” will be applicable to the vehicles bought on or before March 31, 2005. “The total potential vehicles to be replaced with this definition are nearly 28 million,” it said. Under the scheme, people surrendering their old vehicles and buying new one are likely to receive three benefits amounting to 8-12 per cent of total cost of the new vehicle, the ministry said.