Olive green car colour ban in Tamil Nadu

Historically, in India, the olive green colour for cars has been reserved for vehicles used by our  armed forces or defense personnel. Cars such as the Tata Safari 400, Mahindra Rakshak, or the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy utilized by army personnel are the only vehicles allowed to be painted olive green. This is mandated by the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) in Rule 121 (1). The rule states that no motor vehicle should be painted olive green unless it is owned by the defense department. 

In recent times, despite the ban on the olive green, car manufacturers have been painting their passenger vehicles this colour, giving them a different naming convention, such as ‘Robust Emerald Pearl’, ‘Pewter Olive’ and ‘Ranger Khaki’.

Tamil Nadu RTO halts the registration of olive green cars 

To comply with the rule around olive green cars, in April 2024, RTOs in Tamil Nadu had paused the registration of vehicles of this colour. The state transport commissioner, A. Shanmuga Sundaram, had requested clarity from the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) on the registration of such vehicles.  However, after discovering that around 400 cars with colours close to olive green had already been registered by various RTOs, the commissioner withdrew his request. Sources also cited that the RTOs were given verbal orders to proceed with the registration of vehicles with these colours.

Earlier, in 2021, the Transport Department in Himachal Pradesh had faced a similar dilemma, where they urged approximately 15,000 vehicle owners with olive green paint to get their vehicles repainted. They also sought the help of the police department to trace cars that were painted in olive green. It was stated that those who failed to comply with the repainting of their vehicles would eventually lose their vehicle’s registration. The owners of the olive green cars were given three months to carry out the colour change. 

In 2003-04, Mahindra also offered a similar colour for their Bolero, called ‘Henna Green’. The shade was immediately halted for use in private vehicles after the military’s objection. 

What about existing car with olive green colour scheme

Currently, there is still a lack of clarification from MoRTH on the issue. However, if all these colours, i.e. ‘Robust Emerald Pearl’, ‘Pewter Olive’ and ‘Ranger Khaki’, are deemed illegal, vehicle owners may be required to repaint their cars. A change of colour must be authorised by the RTO and must also be updated on the vehicle’s registration certificate.