Renewal of registration for 15-yr-old govt vehicles to stop from Apr 1, 2022: Draft notification
New Delhi, Mar 13: The government departments will not be able to renew registration of their vehicles older than 15 years from April 1, 2022, if a proposal in this regard issued by the the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is finalised.
It has sought stakeholders comments to amend related rules in this regard issuing a notification.
Once approved, this will be applicable to all government vehicles - central or state governments, union territories, PSUs, municipal and autonomous bodies, as per the notification.
"From April 1, 2022, government departments will not be able to renew the certificate of registration of their vehicles, after 15 years. This will apply to all government - central, state, UT, PSUs, municipal bodies & autonomous bodies," the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways said in a tweet.
The development comes close on heels of the voluntary vehicle scrapping policy announced in the Union Budget on February 1 for 2021-22 which provides for fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles while commercial vehicles would require it after the completion of 15 years.
Notification of the draft rules has been issued to this effect on March 12 by the ministry seeking comments, objections and suggestions from the stakeholders within thirty days.
The certificate of registration shall not be renewed after the laps of 15 years for govenrment vehicles, it said.
Presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 had announced vehicle scrapping policy.
Road, Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari had said that initially one crore vehicles will go for scrapping and the policy will lead to new investments of around Rs 10,000 crore and create as many as 50,000 jobs.
These old vehicles are estimated to cause 10-12 times more pollution than the latest vehicles.
The government had earlier said it plans to impose green tax on old polluting vehicles soon in a bid to protect the environment and curb pollution while vehicles like strong hybrids, electric vehicles and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol and LPG will be exempted. The revenue collected through the green tax will be utilised for tackling pollution.
Under the scheme, transport vehicles older than eight years could be charged green tax at the time of renewal of fitness certificate at the rate of 10-25 per cent of road tax, as per green tax proposal sent to states for consultations after cleared by the ministry.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
