In a major initiative to boost revenue, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is set to establish a massive 100-acre vehicle scrapping facility near Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, approx 350 km east of Mumbai.
The project will follow a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with private partners selected based on the most competitive revenue-sharing proposals.
This upcoming facility will be significantly larger, nearly 20 times the size, than existing scrapping centres in the state, which typically operate on plots of just 2 to 5 acres. It will be located at Khuldabad in the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, on MSRTC-owned land.
The move comes as part of efforts to strengthen the finances of the debt-ridden MSRTC. Currently, eight authorised scrapping centres operate in Maharashtra, each with an annual capacity to dismantle at least 1,000 vehicles.
The project aligns with the central government’s 2021 Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) policy, which mandates the scientific disposal of vehicles older than 15 years. Maharashtra adopted the policy in 2023, guided by the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS), which lay out norms for recognizing and regulating scrapping centres.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, who chaired a review meeting on the initiative last week, emphasized that the new facility will ensure the safe and scientific dismantling of decommissioned vehicles. “This new centre will ensure that old vehicles are scientifically dismantled and their parts are permanently disposed of in a way that prevents reuse. The initiative is expected to generate a new and sustainable revenue stream for MSRTC,” he stated.
Source Hindustan Times
