Could I please have my Thar back—if not an Ambassador?

It was a brutal setback to me, an expat trying to settle back down in the city I had grown up in and continue to love. I originally wanted an Ambassador, but this car had been phased out. The Thar served me well. It stoutly carried me up and down the mountains of north India without so much as a whimper. Twice it defended me physically, including once when a cab rammed into the back of this four-wheeled iron fortress at great speed, with injuries only to the assailant. Seldom did it break down. 

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But the Delhi stricture on allegedly aged vehicles meant that I had to sell off my prized possession well before its time. Note that I could have happily driven it around in any state unencumbered by such regulation. I consoled myself on the grounds that, personally, I would be less responsible for the vehicular emissions that were bringing the world to the brink. 

But, of course, age-barring vehicles is a misguided policy that is quite rightly being challenged by the Delhi government. 

Curiously, alternatives have long existed. For close to three decades in the UK, I drove petrol and hybrid cars of myriad make and model that were sometimes many years old and sometimes new. I was able to enjoy running those cars in the UK and across Europe because local laws allowed me to do so. Those regulations are more relevant than ever to India, a car market that is expected to enlarge along with the economy. 

The original NGT ruling said, “All vehicles, diesel or petrol, which are more than 15 years old shall not be permitted to ply on the roads and wherever such vehicles of this age are noticed, the concerned authorities shall take appropriate steps in accordance with law, including seizure of the vehicles in accordance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.” 

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UK regulation, on the other hand, stipulates an annual MOT (ministry of transport) test for your car—a system run by a fleet of more than 23,500 garages and some 66,000 mechanics authorized by the government to carry out stringent tests of roadworthiness. You pay a nominal fee for the test and, of course, for any labour or car parts needed. Your car will be tested for just about everything: from brakes, steering, visibility, lamps, reflectors, electrical equipment, axles, wheels, tyres, suspension, body structure, attachments, seat belts, doors and mirrors to something called ‘nuisance’ (noise and emission).

The key to this whole exercise is a chain of trust starting with a qualification test for the mechanic. It’s not as if this system is immune to fraud: a recent scandal involving fake tests and certificates (‘ghost MOT’) has prompted the UK government to propose that garages upload photos of the candidate car in a testing bay along with its number plate and chassis number. 

There is no age limit on vehicles. In fact, if your car is more than 40 years old, it may be exempt from an MOT test. But you must ensure that it is well maintained and roadworthy.

Similarly, the European Commission proposes an annual check on all vehicles that are more than 10 years old. Its main goal is to reduce deaths and serious injuries from traffic accidents to zero by 2050.

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Of course, India’s densely polluted cities do need to address emissions, particularly from dirty old vehicles, but policy must be evidence-based. That is what Delhi’s chief minister Rekha Gupta is calling for in her government’s legal challenge of the NGT ruling. A balance must be struck  between our need to breathe safely and this city’s insatiable hunger for cars. More high-end cars may hit Delhi’s roads (which need repair too, please) once the UK-India free trade agreement swings into action. These cars will last long and their owners may want to drive in them for longer.

Owning a car in India once meant it was a lifetime asset. A friend’s 15-year-old Wagon-R in excellent condition got towed away, he says—without so much as a by-your-leave—by a gang of men hired by the municipal corporation. “They were enjoying themselves so much it reminded me of snatchers in the Harry Potter books who got rewarded for rounding up muggles.”

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Gupta is right to emphasize fitness over age. We are not a throwaway people; we like to save money and cling to things, and we savour experiences like the freedom of a car ride. A TV set or car is a relationship. Almost human, all it needs is an annual once-over, easily done if the city’s eager 24×7 service economy is given the foundational strength of quality and trust. 

The author is a former European and UK correspondent for the Hindustan Times.