GUNTUR: The introduction of the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, which took effect in April 2022, has brought an end to the worries of the people, as South India’s first Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) has been set up in Guntur district.
The Hindustan Recycling Hub, approved by the Department of Transport, Andhra Pradesh and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, has been operational since May. Spread over two acres of land, the facility has been set up with Rs 12 crore.
With as many as 27 staff, over 200 tonnes of scrap has been produced, as more than 100 vehicles have been dismantled in the plant in the last four months. Interestingly, all these vehicles are old vehicles belonging to various central government departments.
With an objective to reduce air pollution and stimulate vehicle sales, the central government has decided to phase out old passenger and commercial vehicles. The policy mandates that passenger vehicles older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years to pass a ‘fitness and emission test’ to continue their services and announced incentives to scrap old vehicles, including discounts on the purchase of vehicles against a scrappage certificate.
The incentives included a 5% discount for purchasing new vehicles and a registration fee waiver for new vehicle purchases. The vehicle owners can get a scrap value equivalent to 4-6% of the showroom price of the new vehicle. Along with this, the State can provide up to 25% and 15% refund of road tax for personal and commercial vehicles, respectively.
Speaking to TNIE, Jabeeullah Mohammad, Co-Founder of the Hindustan Recycling Hub said that though we have been receiving several inquiry calls regarding the scrapping of their old vehicles, the customers are not so eager to take the final call as the incentive that has to be announced in the policy by the State government has been delayed.
Meanwhile, unaware of these incentives, still many people are going to Maya Bazaar, the go-to place for unauthorised scrapping of vehicles, and Auto Nagar in the city. In order to avoid the lengthy process for de-registration of vehicles and NOC for scrapping, people continue to visit unauthorised scrap dealers.
However, transport department officials opine that vehicles handed over to unauthorised scrap dealers lack proper tracking processes and are potentially used for illegal or criminal activities, following which the vehicle owner will be held responsible for the consequences arising.
"After the new scrapping policy has been introduced, standing in queue lines, and waiting for several days to get all required documents from the officials is prevented. The RVSF surveyors will do all the required verifications and documentation from RTA. To facilitate the customers, the RVSF also provides pick-up facilities from any place at any convenient time and payment would be credited to their bank account,’’ said Jabeeullah.
The state government should take the initiative and announce the policy with all incentives and also hand over government old vehicles for scrapping and set an example for the public, he added.