Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Transport Department has directed its field offices to seize commercial vehicles that have attained the age of 25 years and lodge FIRs if such vehicles are found plying on roads.
Transport Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan, in a post on X, urged owners of such vehicles to scrap them, citing commuter safety.
“Request all Commercial Vehicle owners to Scrap the vehicles which have attained the age of 25 years as today. We have written to field offices to seize and lodge FIRs in case they are found moving on the roads. We are concerned about Commuter Safety,” Mahajan said.
The direction follows a Transport Commissionerate order issued in September fixing 25 years as the permissible operational life for commercial and passenger transport vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the order, the age of a vehicle is to be calculated from its initial date of registration. Vehicles that have crossed the 25-year limit are prohibited from operating, carrying passengers or transporting goods on public roads.
The order also provides for stricter fitness checks for commercial and passenger transport vehicles between 15 and 25 years of age. Such vehicles are required to undergo fitness evaluation every six months, with the validity of a fitness certificate restricted to six months at a time.
The fitness assessment covers the vehicle’s roadworthiness and critical safety components, including brakes, steering, tyres and suspension. Inspectors are also required to check lighting and signalling equipment, body condition and compliance with pollution-control requirements.
The Transport Commissionerate has directed Regional Transport Officers, Assistant Regional Transport Officers, Motor Vehicle Inspectors and other enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the provisions. The order came into force with immediate effect, according to the report by Akashvani.
The 25-year ceiling also has a precedent in J&K’s transport regulations. Government Order No. 20-TR of 2007 had provided for a ban on the plying of old commercial and passenger vehicles on attaining 25 years, while requiring six-monthly fitness testing for vehicles in the 15-to-25-year category.
A 2020 Transport Department circular reiterated that the life extension of passenger and commercial vehicles between 15 and 25 years would be governed by the 2007 order and related instructions.
