News that vehicles over 15-years-old will not be allowed to ply on the roads of the capital have been doing the rounds recently. This topic seems seasonal since the air quality is around its worst at this time of the year. Many developed nations have adopted similar strategies to deal with air quality. And, in many cases, it’s worked as well – but we can’t simply ape solutions without considering the consequences. After all, such a move would have huge financial implications for residents of the National Capital Region. For a vast majority of Indians, buying a car is a major life purchase. Small cars are the highest selling segment in our market because of how price sensitive we are as a society. Many people buy cars for a lifetime – just like they would a home. Even in a big metropolis like Delhi, we see a lot of cars like the old Maruti 800 and Daewoo Matiz on the roads everyday. Most of them are older than the 15-year-mark. Some of them are in lovely condition too, which indicates that the owners take very good care of them. In many cases, this is the only means of transport for the entire family, and they’re simply not in a position to opt for a new car. If the 15-year ban comes into force, all these old cars will have to be discarded. And while they won’t go to the crusher just yet, they will have to find homes outside the NCR. So, what options do these families have? Will the government run an exchange scheme that makes sense? Will they provide an incentive to trade-in these cars and ensure easy financing? If these cars have to be sold off en masse to smaller towns around the capital, values will drop drastically below their market prices and owners will get little or nothing for their thus-far prized possession. And if someone can’t afford a new car and they have to resort to public transport, will there be a true effort to improve the quality of our public transport system? And what about the plumes of smokes that bellow from the thousands of trucks that make their way through the city everyday? Will they be required to suddenly meet the emission standards that are violated with impunity? And that’s to say nothing of controlling the construction boom that’s as much to blame for the particulate matter in the air. Plus, will this rule be applicable only in the metros or will it also be enforced in the smaller cities and towns? After all, if you’ve ever visited smaller commercial towns, which have bumper-to-bumper traffic, you would definitely have noticed the all too prevalent air pollution. Overloaded trucks, city buses, and old generation diesel three-wheelers seem to compete with the unregulated factories to spew black greasy smoke. If the pollution levels don’t kill you overnight, then they’ll surely give you severe respiratory problems to last a lifetime. And while the thought of being able to breathe good clean air in cities is hugely enticing, I hope the government doesn’t think that banning old vehicles to clean the air is just an extension of their “Swachh Bharat” campaign. Doing this in haste might just leave a whole lot of people disillusioned. And yes, Mr Modi, I hope you’ll leave our vintage and classic vehicles alone...
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