Minister Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates Vehicle Scrapping Facility In Noida

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the new Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu Vehicle Scrapping facility in Noida. The MSTI plant has been built by Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Tsusho Group and is the first government-approved scrapping and recycling facility for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). The scrappage plant has been built with an investment of Rs. 44 crore and is spread across 10,993 sq. mt. It will be operated by Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India Pvt. Ltd., in accordance with the central government's Vehicle Scrappage Policy.

Also Read: MoRTH Releases List Of Incentives, Disincentives Under Vehicle Scrapping Policy

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari takes a tour of the Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu Scrapping Centre in Noida

The scrappage plant has a capacity to scrap 2,000 vehicles per month and 24,000 vehicles annually. The company also revealed that it will take about 200 minutes or about 3.3 hours to scrap one vehicle completely. While this is the first government-approved scrappage facility, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced plans of adding at least 200-300 such units over the next two years across the country. Gadkari further said that he expects the auto industry to see a boost of 10-12 per cent thanks to the new scrappage policy in place.

The new MSTI facility gets all its machines sourced domestically. The plant follows environment-friendly scrapping with zero discharge of oils and AC gases to land or air. It also has radioactive material scanning and up to 95 per cent of scrap recovery. The facility will also sell the recovered scrap only to authorised recyclers and smelters.

Gadkari said the new Vehicle Scrappage Policy is expected to give the Indian auto sector a boost of 10-12 per cent

For the customer, scrapping an old vehicle will become easier with the ELV scrapping centres. Customers will get a certificate of dismantling that can be used for de-registration at the Regional Transport Office (RTO). The scrapping facility also promises a transparent process and digital payment. Moreover, customers can get their registration fee waived off when buying a new vehicle, The government has also urged auto manufacturers to offer incentives to buyers to encourage scrapping old cars.

Speaking at the event, Gadkari said, "The scrappage policy will be one of the key factors to control pollution. Old cars are much more polluting than new ones, so they need to be phased out. Old vehicles cause pollution that's a big problem for society. Scrapping is very important for the economy. We will get all raw materials at lower cost by which we can lower production cost."

"The scrappage policy has the potential to reduce raw material cost by 33 per cent, generate incremental GST revenue on vehicle sales about Rs. 30,00-40,00 crore for the government," Gadkari added further.

Customers who scrap their end-of-life vehicles will get a certificate that will help waive off the registration fee on a new vehicle

Also speaking at the event, Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, "Like many countries, we need a policy where fitness is checked for vehicles every 3-4 years. We don't need to wait for 15 years."

Gadkari also spoke about having at least 3-4 vehicle scrapping centres in every district. He said, "We expect a fresh investment of over Rs. 10,000 crore in automotive fitness centres and scrapping centres. We should have at least 3-4 scrapping centres in every district. They can create new employment."

The move will also boost the economy in different districts with more investment and employment opportunities. Elaborating further, Gadkari said, "The auto sector has an annual turnover of Rs. 7.5 lakh crore. Target is to take it to Rs. 15 lakh crore in 5 years. India aims to have net-zero emissions by 2070 and it's very important for us. I'm confident that the scrappage policy is one of the solutions."

The minister also urged the unorganised scrappage sector to take benefit under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) department and establish new scrapping centres.