Telangana To Scarp Older Vehicles

The Telangana government plans to prohibit vehicles that are 15 years or older from operating on the roads of Hyderabad and other districts within the state. This regulation is anticipated to take effect on January 1, 2025.

Based on the prohibition, vehicle owners have only two options: scrap the vehicles or face penalties if these vehicles are found on the streets. However, vehicles that pass a fitness assessment may remain in use for an additional 3–5 years, provided the owner pays a green tax.

The exemption, however, will not apply to 10,000 government vehicles that have to be scrapped once they are 15 years of age or older, regardless of their condition.

Currently, there are more than 30 lakh automobiles, 20 lakh of which come from Greater Hyderabad alone, that fall under the category. Of them, 17 lakh are two-wheelers, 3.5 lakh are automobiles, 1 lakh are trucks, and 20,000 are autorickshaws.

Therefore, these vehicles will likely need to be scrapped, as the Regional Transport Authority has submitted a draft vehicle scrappage policy for government approval.