Within the transport sector, trucks and buses account for 36 percent of PM 2.5 emissions with only 3 percent of total fleet. “It is estimated that a single pre-BS heavy-duty vehicle emits as much as 14 BS-VI compliant vehicles. Even a BS-IV vehicle emits 2.7 times more than a BS-VI counterpart,” the official statement said.To contain vehicular emissions, which remain one of the biggest contributors to air pollution in the Capital, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a two-year ‘cleaner mobility’ scheme with an outlay of Rs 9,585 crore to replace old trucks and buses in Delhi-NCR, officials said. The scheme will seek to incentivize owners of trucks and buses that are complying with older emissions norms such as BS-IV to replace their vehicles with BS-VI or stricter emission-compliant vehicles or electric vehicles, as per an official government statement. However, government vehicles are excluded from the scheme.As per officials, state governments will waive registration fees and grant up to 100 percent motor vehicle tax concessions for new vehicles and 50 percent for used vehicles for 10 years. State governments will also waive off pending liabilities on the old vehicles participating in the scheme, they added.The Centre will provide 5 percent interest subvention on loans for five years, monthly fuel vouchers worth up to Rs 4,800 depending on vehicle category, and lump-sum benefits for EV purchases or certificate of deposit trading. Of the Rs 9,585 crore outlay Rs 5,041 crore will be from Centre, while an estimated Rs 1,601 crore in tax concessions will come from the participating states.The scheme will be funded through the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and will be implemented in collaboration with participating states and union territories of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.The move assumes significance as the transport sector contributes 14 percent of PM 2.5 pollution, 40 percent of carbon monoxide and 63 percent of nitrogen dioxide emissions in Delhi-NCR.Within the transport sector, trucks and buses account for 36 percent of PM 2.5 emissions with only 3 percent of total fleet. “It is estimated that a single pre-BS heavy-duty vehicle emits as much as 14 BS-VI compliant vehicles. Even a BS-IV vehicle emits 2.7 times more than a BS-VI counterpart,” the official statement said.It is estimated that 2.07 lakh (1.91 lakh trucks and 16,329 buses) owners are present in Delhi-NCR. However, the scheme will not benefit those owning BS-III or older vehicles. Scrapping of such vehicles will be mandatory at the registered vehicle scrapping facilities, while BS-IV vehicles may either be scrapped or sold outside NCR in non-National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities or towns, officials said. Non-NCAP cities refers to areas where pollution levels are compliant with National Ambient Air Quality standards.“Owners must then purchase and register a BS-VI or stricter norms compliant or electric vehicle within NCR. However, in Delhi, Light Goods Vehicles purchased under the scheme must be electric, while buses must be BS-VI CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) or electric only,” the government statement added.An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:New Delhi