Officials announced on Thursday that Delhi would soon have its first approved Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF), eliminating the need for residents to drive to surrounding states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to get rid of their excess or end-of-life petrol and diesel automobiles.
The Transport department had previously certified a list of RVSFs, some of which had offices in Delhi. Nevertheless, these enterprises’ scrap yards were situated in other states, particularly in the National Capital Region, such as Ghaziabad and Meerut. According to a government official, this will be the first time such a unit is built in Delhi.
On April 1, 2025, EZWaste Recycling Private Limited, situated in Southeast Delhi’s Mohan Co-operative Industrial Estate on Mathura Road, received permission from the Transport Department to open a car scrapping facility in the city. Operation of the plant is permitted till March 24, 2035.
Officials pointed out that until last year, businesses engaged in automobile scrapping were not allowed to set up scrapping units or scrap yards in the Capital owing to worries about environmental contamination.
However, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) chose to categorise such units in the “Orange” category industry after adopting scientific methods for disassembling and discarding outdated cars. Thanks to this categorisation, which was implemented last year, private businesses are now able to establish scrapping facilities inside the city.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, “orange” category industries are those that produce a modest amount of pollution.
“Restricting the proliferation of illicit scrap yards, which cause pollution, is another important goal underlying this decision. “People would also be able to take advantage of hassle-free service if the scrap yards were authorised by the government,” a senior official stated.
The DPCC had first received an application for authorisation from EZWaste Recycling Private Limited. It had applied for clearance from the Transport Department last year after getting board approval,” the official continued.
The firm may trash up to 70,000 automobiles a year and has the licence to do so for vehicles in the “L” (light vehicles), “M” (motor vehicles), “N” (goods vehicles) and other categories.
Delhi has banned the operation of gasoline-powered cars older than 15 years and diesel-powered vehicles older than 10 years for a number of years. There are presently more than a lakh end-of-life cars in the city.
In response to directives from the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, the Transportation Department started de-registering these cars in January 2022. If a no-objection certificate is acquired from the Delhi Transport Department, these cars can still be sold in other states.
In March 2023, the department began a massive campaign against these cars, which lasted until September. A similar campaign was conducted at Diwali 2024 in cooperation with law enforcement organisations including the Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Traffic Police. Vehicle scrapping was permitted at the time by 17 Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
Officials said that 28,049 end-of-life cars were seized between October of last year and February of this year.
