The rapid expansion of India’s road network has led to a sharp increase in the number of registered vehicles. The lack of efficient and adequate public transport has also boosted the sale of vehicles in the country to meet the demands for personal mobility solutions. The rapid growth of vehicles on the roads has given rise to the twin problems of traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. End-of-life vehicle scrapping (ELV) is an important policy intervention to reduce vehicle pollution, but the process must be environmentally friendly so that it does not add to pollution rather than address it -the. Official data shows that of the estimated 1.2 million vehicles to be scrapped across the country, the Northeast region accounts for about 15 million vehicles, including 10 million vehicles registered in Assam. The state government estimates that over the next five years, eight lakh additional vehicles will be 15 years old, and these ELVs will include a significant number of commercial vehicles. The Assam Vehicle Scrapping Policy, 2022 requires that vehicles that have not renewed their Registration Certificate (RC), do not have a certificate of fitness or are 15 years or more and are owned by the government, public sector companies, government agencies, autonomous councils etc. must be scrapped at a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF). The “Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Facilities for the Handling and Scrapping of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs)” revised by the Central Pollution Control Board have detailed the environmental standards to be followed by RVSF . The guidelines describe the procedures and facilities required to establish environmentally sound scrapping facilities for ELVs, along with compliance requirements under environmental regulations, including waste management standards notified under the Act of environmental protection of 1986. The documents show concern that most of the country’s auto scrap yards are managed by the semi-formal sector, and these semi-formal recyclers use crude methods to recover materials and are poorly organized among themselves and with other parties stakeholders of the ELV value chain. It points out that VLEs contain dangerous substances, such as used oil, lubricants, waste batteries, lights, electronic components, air bags, etc.; its recovery is often harmful to the health of scrap recovery workers; and may cause environmental pollution if disassembled or disposed of incorrectly. The guidelines also state that passenger cars contain approximately 70% steel, 7-8% aluminum and 20-25% plastic, rubber, glass, etc., and recycling one ton of steel saves 1,134 kg of iron ore, 635 kg of coal. , and 54.4 kg of limestone. These datasets explain why recycling is central to vehicle scrapping policies. The policy adopted by the Government of Assam requires all government vehicles older than 15 years to be compulsorily scrapped and all government vehicles to be converted to electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 as per the Policy of electric vehicles of assam. The policy also stipulates that after 2025, government departments will be able to purchase only electric vehicles whenever applicable. Achieving the government’s vehicle electric vehicle targets will be a daunting task if the slow pace of setting up electric vehicle charging stations in the state remains unchanged. Range anxieties due to the unavailability of adequate charging stations have also slowed the pace of electric vehicle sales, despite subsidies being offered to buyers under the Faster Vehicle Adoption and Manufacturing Plan hybrids and electrics in India (FAME India). Of the 16.73 lakh personal hybrid vehicles currently in use in the country, Assam has only 14693 vehicles, which include 2908 battery-powered electric vehicles, 1375 diesel/hybrids and 10410 petrol/hybrids. The Assam Electric Vehicle Policy, 2021 aims to promote rapid adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to account for 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2026. Without ending concerns about charging of electric vehicles, that seems like a tall order. , and the slow adoption of green vehicles will continue to pose a barrier to reducing emissions in the transport sector. The CPCB guidelines provide that the waste generated during the environmentally sound scrapping of VLEs must be managed in accordance with various norms notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, which have been notified in order to have legal provisions regulating the handling and management of waste without causing any adverse effect on the environment or human health. As these norms are implemented through the state government and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), their compliance by RVSF and other stakeholders will require strict monitoring by SPCBs and transport departments. The guidelines emphasize the need to develop a mechanism for collecting and channeling ELVs from the source of their generation for recycling and recovery in an environmentally sound manner. The state must put in place a robust mechanism for recycling and disposal so that ELV scrapping is environmentally friendly and does not create new environmental and health hazards.
Environmentally rational vehicle scrapping – Sentinelassam
