If you are driving a diesel car that is over 10 years old in Delhi, chances are it is going to get pulled over any day now. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has upheld its order banning diesel vehicles over 10 years of age from plying in the Delhi-NCR region. A plea against this in the Supreme Court has since been dismissed and traffic police are flagging down old diesel cars. That means, the ban is here to stay.
So what are your options if you own a diesel car that is over 10 years old? Do note that most car owners would have paid lifetime road tax at the time of buying the car, which is valid for 15 years. Here are some things you can do to dispose off your 10-year-old diesel car.
Get an NOC for Another State
The Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Delhi are issuing letters to owners of diesel cars over 10 years old, de-registering them. However, there is a window of hope for some owners who want to sell it off in another state. The RTO is issuing ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOCs) for vehicles that are more than 10 years, but less than 15 years old, for certain states where vehicle density is low. These include states such as Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, the North Eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir among others.
Scrap the Car
There are no laws in place for scrapping of cars, so owners will have to resort to getting them scrapped at local scrap markets. When a car is scrapped, the chassis number of the vehicle is cut out and given to the owner. This will help prove that the vehicle has indeed been scrapped and its registration can be cancelled.
Apply for a Refund of Tax
Vehicles which are less than 15 years old, but more than 10 years old, can apply for a refund of road tax from the RTO. The owner needs to remove the registration plates and get the chassis number cut out from the vehicle and submit it at the RTO to apply for a refund of road tax. Along with it, all the papers have to also be submitted.
Some Grey Areas
Although the ban on 10-year-old diesel cars applies to the Delhi-NCR region (which includes Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and adjoining areas), there are discrepancies in registration of new diesel vehicles.
New diesel cars in Delhi are being registered for a duration of only 10 years, while cars that are registered in Faridabad or Ghaziabad get a registration of 15 years. The issue would be that these cars won’t be able to drive in Delhi by 2027 or 2028, but will still have registrations valid till 2032 or 2033.
Timeline of Events
26 November 2014
NGT bans all vehicles (petrol and diesel) over 15 years old from plying in Delhi-NCR
7 April 2015
NGT bans diesel vehicles over 10 years old in Delhi-NCR
27 April 2015
Government seeks stay on ban by the NGT in Delhi-NCR
8 July 2016
The NGT directs Delhi RTO to de-register all diesel vehicles more than 10 years old
3 August 2017
The NGT says that ‘No objection certificate’ won’t be granted to de-registered cars in Delhi-NCR for plying in other states, if those states don’t identify no-pollution zones.
14 September 2017
NGT dismisses the Centre's plea seeking modification of its order banning ten-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.
December 2017
Ban implementation begins in earnest
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