Tata Motors and Maharashtra to set up scrapping facility

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, today signed an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra, through the Industries, Energy and Labour Department, Government of Maharashtra, with an intent to support setting up a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) in Maharashtra.

The MoU was signed at the Conference on Investment Opportunities in Highway, Transport and Logistics in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in the presence of the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, Nitin Gadkari and other delegates. The proposed scrappage centre will have the capacity of recycling up to 35,000 vehicles a year for end-of-life passenger and commercial vehicles.

 The Industries, Energy and Labour Department will facilitate the necessary approvals as per the rules and regulations of the State Government of Maharashtra and the draft vehicle scrappage policy released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for setting up of the RVSF. It will address the intent of all stakeholders with benefits such as low import bill for scrap and crude oil, job opportunities for MSMEs, the possibility of upside in new vehicle sales for OEMs, low operation cost for vehicle owners, safer and cleaner vehicles for consumers and a sustainable environment for all.

Tata Motors will set up the scrapping centre in association with a partner. Tata Motors had earlier signed an MoU with the government of Gujarat for setting up an RVSF in Ahmedabad and will continue to work with other Government bodies to more initiatives to support the vehicle scrappage policy.

Commenting on the partnership, Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “We are happy to partner with the Government of Maharashtra to support in setting up a scrapping facility in Maharashtra. Besides the well-known benefits that appropriate vehicle scrapping offers – boosting the setup of a circular economy, this initiative will also help in reiterating our commitment to strengthen our leadership in sustainable mobility space. We are proud to partner with the policymakers on this initiative of setting up scrapping facilities across the country. It is the beginning of a new chapter and a step in the right direction for India’s transportation sector.”

The development comes around a month after Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Tsusho Group commencing operations of their vehicle dismantling and recycling JV- Maruti Suzuki Toyota India (MSTI) . Both the companies have 50% stakes each in the entity. The vehicle dismantling and recycling unit located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh has been set up with an investment of Rs 44 crore and is spread over 10,993 square metres. It has a scrapping capacity of 2,000 units a month or 24,000 units annually. Processing time or scrappage time for a single car is 200 minutes. This first plant will be followed by others as per demand from other States in India.

As things stand, India is home to six of the top 10 polluting cities globally, and is among the top five polluting countries. With vehicular pollution contributing nearly 15-30% (PM2.5 and PM10 level) especially in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, the vehicle scrapping policy brought a much needed progress into effect.