LI Network
Published on: 03 May 2023 at 12:53 IST
In a move to clear the backlog of scrapped vehicles, the Delhi Transport Department has authorized scrapping agencies from outside of Delhi to operate in the city, even as its own licensing process for such agencies remains pending.
According to sources, the department has authorized scrapping agencies from neighboring states to collect scrapped vehicles from Delhi and take them to their own facilities for dismantling and recycling. This decision was made in response to the growing number of scrapped vehicles accumulating in the city’s designated scrap yards.
However, this decision has raised concerns among Delhi-based scrapping agencies, who have been waiting for months for the department to issue licenses to them. These agencies claim that they have been struggling to get their licenses approved due to bureaucratic delays and strict regulatory compliance requirements.
As per the Reports, The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has not clarified Pollution category for Vehicle Scrapping Facility even after several requests by Applicants.
In response to the concerns raised by local agencies, the Delhi Transport Department has stated that it is working to streamline the licensing process for scrapping agencies, but in the meantime, it cannot let the backlog of scrapped vehicles continue to pile up in the city.
Despite this assurance, local agencies remain skeptical, citing the possibility of unfair competition from outside agencies that may not be subject to the same regulatory compliance standards. Meanwhile, environmentalists have welcomed the move to clear the backlog of scrapped vehicles, but have also called for more stringent regulations to be put in place to ensure that the scrapping process is carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The Transport Department of the Delhi government is doing gross arbitrariness in implementing the NGT order regarding sending old vehicles to scrap.
In this matter, the Transport Department is not giving any kind of relief to the owner of the old vehicles while pursuing its personal interest in this matter, while the scrap dealers are also facing severe arbitrariness.
After the NGT order in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, there has been an uproar over sending 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles to the scrapyard. Top officials of the Transport Department have been given the right to pick up old vehicles for personal interest, scrap other states. While all the scrap dealers of Delhi have been removed from the list of scrap dealers in defiance of the order of the High Court, the owners of old vehicles in Delhi are also facing the brunt of this.
In fact, in 2018, on the instructions of the NGT regarding scrap dealers, the Delhi government made a policy to scrap 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in a hurry.
Under which its license was issued to 8 vehicle scrapers of Delhi. But looking at the profits in the scraping business, little did the businessmen who set up the Vehicle Scraping Facility Unit know that their bad days are about to begin soon.
The Transport Department of the Delhi government is doing gross arbitrariness in implementing the NGT order regarding sending old vehicles to scrap. In this matter, the Transport Department is not giving any kind of relief to the owner of the old vehicles while pursuing its personal interest in this matter, while the scrap dealers are also facing severe arbitrariness.
In fact, on January 19, 2023, on January 19, 2023, the Delhi government canceled the licenses of all 8 scrap dealers in Delhi in one stroke after the release of new guidelines by the Transport Department of the Government of India regarding vehicle scrapping. Many scrap dealers of Delhi approached the Delhi High Court against this Tughlaqi decree of the Transport Department.
Hearing them, the High Court ordered the scrap dealers to issue new licenses as per the new guidelines within the stipulated time. But the Delhi Transport Department defying the order of the High Court issued scrapping license to 4 scrap dealers from other states outside Delhi. Not only this, MCD areas were also divided for them to pick up vehicles from different MCD areas of Delhi.
When the scrap dealers of Delhi complained about this as contempt of Delhi High Court’s order, the High Court reprimanded the Transport Department of Delhi Government. But where was the Transport Department going to agree? He then issued a new order in which instead of 4, licenses were issued to 8 scrap dealers.
The interesting thing is that the list does not include the name of even a single scrap dealer who has already set up scrapping centers in Delhi at a cost of crores. Scrap traders say that the decision of the Transport Department is against the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) policy. Due to this, their scraping unit built at the cost of crores has itself become garbage.
Scrap traders allege that the officials of the Transport Department, going against the RVSF policy, have ordered vehicle scrappers registered in other states to lift the vehicles parked in the areas of Municipal Corporation of Delhi due to their personal interest. Not only this, he has also thrown his enforcement team in this work so that vehicle scrapers of other states can be helped in forcibly lifting vehicles from MCD areas.
On the other hand, the people whose vehicles have been taken away say that the scrapers of other states are doing gross arbitrariness. Rules and regulations are being ignored. And vehicle owners are being given only Rs 15 to 25 thousand for old vehicles. Which is less than half of the scrap iron price in the market. But like the scrap dealers of Delhi, the owners of old vehicles of Delhi are also not being heard anywhere.
Some scrapers have approached the High Court against this Tughlaqi decree of the Transport Department and the High Court has ordered the Transport Department to give immediate relief to the scrappers of Delhi. The High Court has said in clear words that you cannot stop the work of a businessman like this.
But the Transport Department has refused to give any relief to the scrappers in defiance of the order of the Hon’ble High Court. Due to which they do not even have the right to scrap the vehicles already standing. Also, the money to build the scrapping center has gone waste in a jiffy. That’s why many scrap traders of Delhi are buried under the burden of debt.
Vehicle scrapers of Delhi now want to apply for re-registered vehicle scrapping facility (RVSF) license in Delhi itself but vehicle scrap dismantling category is not present on Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) portal.
Because of which they are not even able to apply for Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF). While the most important document for setting up a unit in Delhi is a valid pollution certificate.
Now if the website of the Transport Department itself is not opening. If the application for the pollution certificate cannot be made, then from where can a junk dealer get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pollution Control Department?
But the Pollution Control Board and Transport Department of Delhi Government have never paid attention to this. The compensation for which the vehicle scrapers registered in Delhi have to bear. Above all, the Delhi government gives false affidavits in the Hon’ble Supreme Court that we have given license to 3 vehicle scrappers in Delhi.
In fact, under the guise of the NGT guidelines of 2018, the Transport Department is doing terrible injustice and conspiracy with the vehicle scrapers of Delhi. Due to which all the vehicle scrapers of Delhi are facing huge difficulties to run their livelihood.
But no hearing is being done by the Transport Department and vehicle scrapers from other states are being forcibly given the contract to pick up vehicles in Delhi. Overall, it can be said that after the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the scrap business is proving to be Kamdhenu for the Transport Department, while the scrap dealers of Delhi have been forced to stumble every now and then.
