The Regional Transport Department here has seized 22 petrol and diesel vehicles which were 15 and 10 years old but were still being driven by their owners, an official said on Thursday (November 11, 2021).

The vehicles comprised four cars and 19 two-wheelers, and were seized by the transport department to curb pollution in the city, he said.

The department has issued a list of about one lakh vehicles that have exceeded their use period as defined by the department.

These vehicles – cars, scooties, and bikes — are meant to be phased out from Ghaziabad but can be driven in other districts of Uttar Pradesh, Regional transport officer (RTO) Vishwajit Singh told PTI.

Only less than five per cent of vehicle owners in the list have obtained a ‘No Objection Certificate’ which is required to register these vehicles for use in the other parts of the state where these rules are not applicable.

The action was taken under the Niti Aayog’s voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, under which vehicle owners will be required to re-register their vehicles paying a high fee once they exceed a certain age.

Till now there has been no order from the Aayog that says these vehicles can ply in the National Capital Region (of which Ghaziabad is a part) after getting a fitness certificate, Singh said.

The department will impound more such vehicles in the coming days, he added.