Shimla, Aug. 27 -- Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Thursday informed the state Assembly that the Himachal Pradesh government has urged the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to extend the maximum permissible age of contract carriage vehicles in the state from 12 to 15 years.

Agnihotri, who also holds the Transport portfolio, said the state government was pursuing the matter with the Centre, as the power to prescribe or revise the age limit of motor vehicles rests with the Central Government under Section 59 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Responding to concerns raised by legislators and transport operators on the sixth day of the ongoing monsoon session, he said the state could not independently alter the p...