KATHMANDU, June 9: Although vehicles older than 20 years have been contributing to both air pollution and road accidents, the government continues to delay their removal. Transport entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are trying their best to avoid the enforcement of such a move. These old vehicles not only worsen pollution but have also become a significant cause of accidents.
According to the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), a total of 5.85 million vehicles have been registered across the country. The number of vehicle registrations continues to increase every year.
According to the statistics, out of the total registered vehicles in the country, 71,577 are mini-buses and mini-trucks, 41,986 are cranes, dozers, excavators, and trucks, 129,119 are cars, jeeps, and vans, 91,483 are pickups, 12,575 are microbuses, 111,352 are tempos, 4.744 are motorcycles, 190,064 are tractors and power tillers, 73,606 are e-rickshaws, and 17,875 fall under other categories. Among all, motorcycles account for the highest number of registered vehicles.
According to Bharat Nepal, General Secretary of the Central Federation of Public Transport Nepal, there are about 700,000 public transport vehicles across the country. Of them, around 140,000 are over 20 years old.
Around 2070 BS, the Council of Ministers had decided to scrap vehicles older than 20 years. The decision defined "scrap" as the cancellation of registration, auctioning, and destruction of such vehicles. However, despite the cabinet's decision, this provision was not incorporated into the national Vehicle and Transport Act.
Public vehicles older than 20 years to stay off the roads from...
In 2075 BS, the Bagmati Province government enacted its own law, mandating the scrapping of public vehicles older than 20 years. According to Section 19(4) of the Bagmati Province Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2075, public vehicles must be scrapped if they exceed 30 years from the date of registration in the case of electric vehicles, and 20 years for all others, as specified by the Ministry.
Despite both the federal cabinet decision and the enactment of a provincial law, vehicles older than 20 years have not been successfully phased out. Even now, many government offices and roads continue to use such old vehicles extensively.
The 62nd annual report of the Office of the Auditor General has drawn the government's attention to the fact that vehicles older than 20 years are still operating on the roads. The report states, “According to the report of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, there were 400 road accidents caused by mechanical failures between Fiscal Years (FY) 2020/21 and 2023/24. While the Department of Transport Management stated that a total of 442,000 vehicles registered before FY 2003/4 are still in use, there was no record found of how many of these over-20-year-old vehicles are currently operating in the Valley, how many need to be replaced, or how many have already been replaced.”
The report highlights that operating old vehicles leads to several problems, including environmental pollution, road accidents, traffic obstructions, and challenges in traffic management.
The report states, “In a survey conducted during the audit, 49 percent of drivers and traffic police identified the presence of more vehicles than the road capacity as the main cause of traffic congestion. It was also observed that operating old vehicles has increased environmental pollution, vehicles breaking down on roads have caused obstructions in movement, and the number of vehicles exceeding the capacity of roads and other infrastructure has negatively impacted traffic management. Therefore, in accordance with the law, 30-year-old electric vehicles and 20-year-old other vehicles should be replaced to ensure smooth transportation.”
In 2076 BS, during the tenure of Basanta Nembang as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the ministry decided that although Land Cruiser vehicles were over 20 years old, they could last longer due to their durability. However, the decision to scrap other vehicles older than 20 years remained unchanged.
Transport entrepreneurs filed a writ petition at the Patan High Court challenging the ministry's decision.
In 2080 BS, the Patan High Court directed the government to formulate laws for the replacement of vehicles over 20 years old in a manner that applies equally to all. The court ordered the government to consider four key factors while drafting the law: the mechanical condition of the vehicle, its level of pollution, the condition of the roads, and the safety of both roads and passengers.
Transport entrepreneurs argue that scrapping all vehicles over 20 years old at once is not a practical solution. They claim that only vehicles confirmed to be outdated through separate technical inspections should be replaced.
Since Nepal does not manufacture vehicles, purchasing new ones all at once would result in a large outflow of money abroad, according to the General Secretary of the Central Federation of Public Transport,
“Nepal should provide subsidies and banking facilities to help replace vehicles older than 20 years, as there isn't enough money to buy new ones,” he said. “Therefore, instead of deciding to replace all 20-year-old vehicles at once, it would be more appropriate to enact a law requiring technical inspections and replacement only of those vehicles found to be outdated.”
