Drive to enact ban on old autorickshaws in Gurugram from April 1

Once a banned vehicle gets impounded from April 1, it will not be released to the owner even for scrapping

An enforcement drive is set to begin across the entire Gurugram district from April 1 (Friday) to implement the ban on 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel autorickshaws in accordance with the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders to reduce pollution, said the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and regional transport office (RTO) authorities on Tuesday.

Authorities said that autorickshaw unions had urged the Haryana government during a meeting held in February this year that they must be allowed more time to scrap their vehicles after which it was agreed that March 31 would be the cut-off date. (HT archive)

Authorities said that autorickshaw unions had urged the Haryana government during a meeting held in February this year that they must be allowed more time to scrap their vehicles after which it was agreed that March 31 would be the cut-off date.

MCG additional commissioner Vaishali Sharma said that a district-level task force has been constituted for implementing the ban. “It comprises officials of the Gurugram police, district administration, and district transport department. The police have been provided a list of registration numbers of the banned vehicles. They have been instructed to carry out an intensive drive against the violators from April 1,” she said, adding that the task force will also share a daily report of impounded vehicles.

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said that officials would start impounding vehicles that violate the ban from April 1 onwards. “They would never be released again. We know that some banned vehicles are still plying in rural areas of Gurugram clandestinely and the authorities will surely track and impound them,” he said.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Ravinder Singh Tomar said all zone officers would be part of the drive to implement the ban.

Officials said that in December last year, a joint enforcement team of Gurugram traffic police and RTO officials impounded banned autorickshaws that were plying specifically in the city area, but now the action would be district-wide.

District transport officer and RTO secretary Ravinder Yadav said that around 5,200 passenger and goods autorickshaws in Gurugram will be affected by the drive. “Enforcement drives by the district administration and police will deter violation of the ban,” he said.

A senior police officer, privy to the entire matter, said that a large number of banned autorickshaw owners have sold their vehicles in rural Gurugram, neighbouring districts and even in Rajasthan soon after authorities started impounding them in the city last year.

“However, the owners avoided any kind of documentation, including ownership transfer, in order to save money. Thus, the RTO database shows a large number of banned autorickshaws still existing in Gurugram,” he said.

The officer said once a banned vehicle gets impounded from April 1, it will not be released to the owner even for scrapping.