The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a draft notification mandating the installation of air-conditioning systems in the cabins of motor vehicles belonging to categories N2 and N3, manufactured from 1 January 2025 onwards.
“Provided further that vehicles manufactured on or after 1st January 2025 shall be fitted with an air conditioning system for cabin of vehicles of N2 and N3 category. The testing of the cabin fitted with air-conditioning system shall be as per IS14618:2022, as amended from time to time,” stated the draft notification.
Which are N2 and N3 category vehicles: Explained
Category N2: Means a motor vehicles used for carriage of goods and having a Gross vehicle Weight exceeding 3.5 tons but not exceeding 12 tons.
Category N3: Means a motor vehicles used for carriage of goods and having a Gross vehicle Weight exceeding 12 tons.
Earlier, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on 6 July said that the draft notification to mandate the installation of air-conditioning systems in the cabins of trucks has been approved.
The draft prepared includes trucks under categories N2 and N3, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted. “Approved the draft notification to mandate the installation of air-conditioning systems in the cabins of trucks belonging to categories N2 and N3. Truck drivers play a crucial role in ensuring road safety,” the Union minister for road, transport and highways said. This decision marks a significant milestone in providing comfortable working conditions for truck drivers, thereby improving their efficiency and addressing the problem of driver fatigue, Gadkari said.
Last month, the minister said truck drivers play a key role in the transport sector which is one of the most important areas for India, and there is a need to address issues regarding their working conditions and state of mind. Air-conditioned cabins for trucks will soon be made mandatory, Gadkari had said. Lamenting that truck drivers have been forced to work in extreme heat conditions, the minister had said that he has been pushing for air-conditioned cabins for truck drivers for a long time even as “some people objected to it saying it will increase costs.”
*With inputs from agencies
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Updated: 11 Jul 2023, 05:52 PM IST