Green Push: Road Transport Ministry Proposes New Vehicle Fitness Rules

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a draft notification on 28 February, 2022 for validity of fitness certificate and registration mark of the motor vehicle to be exhibited on the vehicles in the manner as prescribed in the draft rules.

The ministry has invited suggestions from the general public and other stakeholders in the next 30 days.

The draft rules amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

What Are The Proposed Changes?

In case of heavy goods/passenger vehicles, medium goods/passenger vehicles, and light motor vehicles, the details shall be exhibited on the upper edge of the left side of the wind screen.

In case of auto-rickshaw, e-rickshaw, e-cart, and quadricycle, it shall be exhibited on the upper edge of the left side of the wind screen, if fitted. If windscreen is not fitted in such vehicles, it shall be exhibited on any conspicuous part of the vehicle.

In case of motorcycle, it shall be exhibited on a conspicuous part of the vehicle.

The validity of the fitness certificate has to be displayed in DD-MM-YYYY format. For all categories of vehicles, the validity of fitness certificate and registration mark shall be displayed in yellow colour on blue background in type Arial Bold Script.

Fitness Certificate A Mandatory Requirement

Under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the registration of a vehicle is treated as valid only if the vehicle has a valid certificate of fitness. To drive a vehicle without a fitness certificate is an offence and the vehicle is treated as not registered.

In the case of private vehicles the fitness certificate is valid for 15 years and thereafter for every five years.

In the case of commercial vehicles the fitness certificates are issued for new vehicles for two years and subsequently renewed for one year. The ministry amended rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 in 2018 vide which renewal of certificate of fitness in respect of commercial vehicles is two years for vehicles up to eight years old and one year for vehicles older than eight years.

The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions (29 per cent of 2019 GHG emissions), of which the major release is that of CO₂.This is known to lead to global warming, and consequently melting of ice caps and severe effects on biodiversity.

India is a signatory to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As part of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), India aims to reduce intensity of emissions of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.

Vehicular emissions contribute significantly to air pollution, which is also emerging as a critical problem for India. The main forms of pollutants in vehicular emissions are CO, HC, NOx and PM, which are known to cause several respiratory diseases and even cancer.

India has witnessed a phenomenal boom in the automobile sector, recording an annual growth rate of 9.4 per cent in the last two decades. To date, there are 33 crore vehicles registered in India. Two-wheelers constitute the largest chunk — accounting for about 75 per cent of all vehicles — followed by cars, jeeps, and taxis occupying the second-largest segment at about 13 per cent. As per the Vahan database of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, there are more than one crore vehicles that do not have a valid fitness or registration certificate.

Analysis of segment and age of vehicles causing air pollution shows that older vehicles pollute the environment 10 to 12 times more than fit vehicles and pose a risk to road safety. Older vehicles also have lower mileage which leads to more fuel consumption per km travelled compared to new vehicles, leading to significant loss in energy.

Thus, in the interest of a clean environment and rider and pedestrian safety, it is essential to create an eco-system for phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles. To this end, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways introduced the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme (VVMP) or 'Vehicle Scrapping Policy' in 2021.

What Is In The Policy?

The Vehicle Scrappage Policy is a first-of-its-kind institutional mechanism to de-register any vehicle.

The criteria for a vehicle to be scrapped are primarily based on the fitness of vehicles through automated fitness centres in case of commercial vehicles and non-renewal of registration in case of private vehicles.

The criteria is adapted from international best practices after a comparative study of standards from various countries like Germany, UK, USA and Japan.

A vehicle failing the fitness test or failing to get a renewal of its registration certificate may be declared as 'end of life vehicles' (ELVs) and will become eligible for scrapping. Criteria to determine vehicle fitness will be primarily emission tests, braking, safety equipment, among many other tests which are as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

As per the policy, commercial vehicles are to be declared as ELVs in case of failure in fitness test, allowed re-test and re-inspection, if ordered by an appellate authority.