To make retrofitting of vehicles easy, transparent and accessible to the public, the Delhi transport department is planning to make the entire process online — from applying for fuel conversion to details about manufacturers, products, cost, dealers and how to apply for kits.
Following the orders of the National Green Tribunal, the Delhi government had last year announced scrapping of 15-year-old petrol vehicles and 10-year-old diesel vehicles. In January, around 1 lakh diesel vehicles were de-registered, and the transport department gave three choices — to get the vehicle scrapped from empanelled dealers, or to get it converted to electric with government-approved retrofitting kits, or to obtain a no-objection certificate and sell such vehicles outside the national capital.
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“The retrofitting will allow people to continue to use their costly vehicles rather than getting them scrapped, and will also be beneficial for the environment,” said an official.
However, some officials cautioned that the kits are costly, and come at different prices for different vehicle models. For instance, a kit for a car like Swift Dzire is Rs 5 lakh.
According to a senior official, the processes will be taken online and updated on the Vahan software. The transport department also held a meeting with the Nation Informatics Centre (NIC) in this regard on Monday.
“Vendors for manufacturing the retrofitting of old petrol and diesel vehicles have been approved by the International Centre for Automotive Technologies (ICAT) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). These companies will be regulators, and will establish dealers and centres where the public can apply for the conversion of vehicles. To make the process easy and transparent, a mapping of all manufacturers and approved kits, details about the engine and its make, dealers and workshops, etc will be made available online,” said Ashish Kundra, principal secretary cum commissioner, transport department.
Kundra said ICAT and ARAI have approved 11 retrofitting kit manufacturers. “We are preparing a framework and master data to make the process hassle-free,” he added. He said the scheme will be approved in 10-15 days, and Vahan software will be updated.
Explaining the process, a transport department official said, “There are two processes, one is about what is available and the other is how to use it. The first one is for the suppliers or manufacturers. They will put details, like their location, products, the type of vehicles they are supplying the engines/kits for, and approved kits.”
The second is for consumers, where they get information on how to apply, product suitable for their vehicle, dealers and workshops. “After getting details about empanelled kits, consumers can apply online, visit nearby centres, see the model and pay if they are happy with the product. Even after getting the vehicle retrofitted, vehicle owner will not have to go to the motor licensing officer for in-person approval. The approval will be done online, ” said the official.