The union ministry of road transport and highways has issued a draft notification for amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules for providing a boost to electric vehicles, ensuring divyang friendly features in buses, and also providing an enabling mechanism for scrapping of vehicles older than 15 years.
The renewal of certificate of fitness in respect of transport vehicles older than 15 years has been proposed to be conducted every six months against the current requirement of testing once a year.
In addition, the fees have been increased further for conducting fitness test and grant and renewal of certificate of fitness for motor vehicles older than 15 years.
Besides, the proposed rules require that provision of priority seats, signs, securing of crutches/canes/walkers, hand rail/stanchions, controls at priority seats and wheel chair entry/housing/locking arrangement for wheel chair for Divyangjan (differently abled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility) to be checked and ensured at the time of fitness inspection for buses.
Battery operated vehicles will be exempted from the payment of fees for the purpose of issue or renewal of registration certificate and assignment of new registration mark. This was already issued earlier, but has been published again for legislative clarity for the amendments.
The notification also provides that newly purchased motor vehicles will be exempted from the payment of fees for the purpose of issue of registration certificate and assignment of new registration mark subject to condition that the motor vehicle is presented for the registration along with the Scrapping Certificate of the previously owned vehicle of same category issued by the authorised scrapping centre/agency and the scrapping certificate has not been utilised for any other such cases in past.
Fees have been revised for renewal of certificates of registration and assignment of new registration mark.
The draft notification has been issued for comments and suggestions from stakeholders.