No coercive action on vintage vehicles: Delhi LG

Officials said the directive came after a representation by the Heritage Motoring Club of India (HMCI) alleged that vintage vehicles were being impounded by authorities in violation of existing rules

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Tuesday instructed the commissioners of the transport department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to ensure that they refrain from coercive action against vintage vehicles – a move that is set to be a major relief to owners of vintage cars in the national capital.

No vehicle older than 15 years is allowed to operate on Delhi roads, according to orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (2015) and the Supreme Court (2018). (HT ARCHIVE)

A senior official from the LG’s office explained that the directive came after a representation by the Heritage Motoring Club of India (HMCI) alleged that vintage vehicles were being impounded by authorities in violation of existing rules and sought clarification.

“The LG has expressed concern regarding coercive action like impounding of vintage vehicles by the authorities like MCD and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and enforcement wing of the transport department, which appears to be in clear violation of notification issued by the department and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders about vintage vehicle registration,” the official said.

The Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) on July 15, 2021, had introduced provisions that enable the registration of vehicles older than 50 years as vintage, the HMCI representation pointed out.

“Subsequently, the transport department also had ordered for allotment of common series ‘DLVA’ for such vehicles,” the official cited above said.

No vehicle older than 15 years is allowed to operate on Delhi roads, according to orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (2015) and the Supreme Court (2018). For diesel vehicles, this time period is 10 years. Any such vehicle caught plying on the city’s roads is liable to be impounded and scrapped.

HMCI’s general secretary Diljeet Titus applauded the LG’s intervention and said that officials often fail to differentiate between regular older cars and certified vintage vehicles.

“These nostalgic vehicles are the part of Indian culture and industrial heritage, even NGT exempted them from the outdated category and allowed them to be part of exhibitions, shows and rallies. Keeping them in a protected category, the government has also put a ban on export of these vehicles,” he said.

Titus revealed that of the approximately 12,000 vintage cars in India, around 3,000 are in Delhi-NCR. He cited cases where vintage cars were mistakenly impounded and scrapped, causing irreversible damage to their rare parts.

Titus said that out of around 12,000 vintage cars across India, there are nearly 3,000 such vehicles in Delhi-NCR. “Since the enforcement officials were unable to make a difference between a 15-year-old car and 50-year-old vintage vehicle, they sent them for scrapping, which caused a heavy loss to their parts,” he added.