Mumbai: Taking note of the rising pollution levels in the city, Maharashtra Government has decided to phase out outdated taxis and autorickshaws.

"The state government will soon start with the campaign of phasing out outdated vehicles from the city," Principal Secretary (Transport), Ramnath Jha said.

"The transportation department will cancel the registration of such outdated vehicles and these vehicles will not be allowed on the roads," Jha said.

Currently, there are 53,000 taxis and over a lakh autos in the city. As part of the campaign, 250 vehicles will be phased out daily.

Old vehicles create a lot of pollution and many of them are not in good condition, Jha said.

These vehicles are very uncomfortable for passengers and there is also the question of safety of people travelling by these vehicles, he added.

The Bombay High Court had given a decision on old trucks and commercial vehicles but kept taxis and rickshaws out of it.

As per the ruling, the maximum life span of a vehicle is seven years. The phasing out campaign will help reduce the number of polluting vehicles in the city, a senior transportation expert said.

"It will also not affect the transportation system, as the state government has already given permission to fleet taxis which are more safe and CNG-based, he added.

Source : PTI