Nitin Gadkari aims to build scrapping facilities within 150-km from city centres

Union minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that his aim is to develop at least one automobile scrapping facility within 150 kilometres from each city centre. He asserted that the country has the potential to become a vehicle scrapping hub of the entire South Asian region, adding that India can import a large number of old vehicles from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka for scrapping here.

The minister was speaking at the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) event. He emphasized that the National Vehicle Scrappage Policy developed by the government is a key initiative in the Indian transport and sustainability sector, adding that this will enable the removal of older and unfit vehicles from the country's roads and introduce new lesser-polluting vehicles in a phased manner.

The minister further stated that the road transport and highways ministry has designed the vehicle scrapping policy in a way that allows all types and sizes of investors to come forward and establish vehicle scrapping centres. "We can also develop multiple authorised collection centres of vehicle scrapping units in one city, which will have the authority to deregister a vehicle and issue deposit certificates," he said.

The National Vehicle Scrappage Policy was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August last year with an aim to help phase out unfit and polluting vehicles from the country's roads and promote a circular economy. Further, the material recycling sector gives direct and indirect employment to four crore people and this number is expected to go up to five crore by 2025.

Under the new policy which is effective from April 1, 2022, the states and Union Territories will provide up to 25 per cent tax rebate on road tax for vehicles that are purchased after scrapping old vehicles.

(with inputs from PTI)