New Delhi: The government has received applications from 79 investors for Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities across 17 states out of which 48 applications are approved by the states, the Parliament was told on Thursday.
In order to promote ease of doing business for private investors, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has facilitated the application for grant of registration certificate to set up Automated Testing Stations and Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities through the National Single Window System, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Currently, 18 states are live on the system for accepting applications for the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
Currently, there are 12 operational registered vehicle scrapping facilities where 8,220 vehicles have been scrapped.
For expediting implementation of Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance has included an incentive of Rs 2,000 crore for the states in their ongoing scheme for ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2022-23’.
A similar scheme has been continued in 2023-24 named ‘Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24’. An amount of Rs 3,000 crore has been earmarked in the scheme to incentivise scrapping of old state government vehicles which are older than 15 years, waiver of liabilities on old vehicles, provision of tax concessions to individuals for scrapping of old vehicles, and setting up of automated vehicle testing facilities.
For implementation of the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) or Vehicle Scrapping Policy, many steps have been taken by the government. Latest notification dated January 16 provides that certificate of registration for vehicles owned by Central, states and UT governments and their Departments, local government (Municipal Corporations or Municipalities or Panchayats), PSUs and other autonomous bodies with the Central and state Governments shall not be renewed after the lapse of 15 years.
(IANS)
