Delhi transport department allows owners to collect vehicle documents before scrapping.
Give at least one chance to the owner to inspect an overage vehicle before it is impounded or scrapped, the Transport Department has instructed all Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) in Delhi in its latest order. The direction comes amid a rise in complaints against the RVSFs for not allowing the owners to retrieve valuable items and important documents from their vehicles.
“Complaints are being received from the owners whose vehicles have been seized or impounded in the enforcement drive against the ‘end-of-life’ vehicle that they are not allowed to recover important and valuable documents or items kept in the seized vehicle,” read the order issued recently.
“In view of the above, all the RVSFs associated with the Transport Department are hereby directed to give at least one chance to the vehicle owners or their authorised representatives to inspect their vehicles and recover their important documents and items,” the order added.
It de-registered about 60 lakh vehicles as of November 13, according to the official data. As per the directions, which aim to curb vehicular pollution, petrol vehicles that have completed 15 years and diesel vehicles that have completed 10 years are prohibited on the roads in the national capital.
This is not the first time that the vehicle owners have filed complaints against the RVSFs. Some owners have even filed petitions in the High Court to get their vehicles released. Following several petitions and complaints, the court directed the Delhi government’s Transport Department to prepare a policy with guidelines for handling ‘end-of-life’ vehicles (ELVs) in public places and launch an online portal.The Transport Department launched the portal last year in October. The portal has guidelines for ELVs and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to help people understand the entire process — filling up the form, the documents needed to get vehicles released, the rules if the vehicle is based out of Delhi, and the procedure for NOC if the vehicle is already scrapped as per due guidelines, then a copy of ‘Certificate of deposit’ and ‘Certificate of Vehicle Scrapping’ shall be provided to the vehicle owner by the RVSF,” read the order.
