Auctioning of khatara cars fetches BMC ₹4.23 crore

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seems to have found a solution to rid the city of unsightly piles of unused vehicles. Last month, the civic body auctioned 4,533 abandoned vehicles to scrap dealers and earned ₹4.23 crore.

The vehicles had been accumulated in the scrapyards since 2020, an official from BMC’s removal of encroachment department said. “After we cancelled the registration number, the parts were melted, recycled and sold as scrap which comprised alloy, steel and plastic.”

A change in the method of auctioning has been carried out to speed up the entire process, the official pointed out. “Previously, we had to appoint a contractor who would hire a vendor to auction the vehicles. Now, all the 24 wards will upload pictures of abandoned vehicles on the Central government’s eAuction portal, and the bidders can bid online.”

However, there are guidelines to participate in the online auction, he said. “We no longer have to endlessly wait or look for an auctioneer. This website is for auctioning all kinds of vehicles and not just abandoned ones.”

Explaining the method, the official said the civic body’s maintenance department issues a 48-hour notice under section 314 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, following which it coordinates with the traffic police department to tow away the vehicles to the scrapyards and depots.

“Every ward has a depot now. After notices are pasted on the clunkers, a period of 40 days is given to people to make claims, failing which BMC sends a letter to the police station to follow certain procedure and then it proceeds with the auction. The entire process takes three months, and a valuation committee then fixes the cost for each vehicle,” the civic official said.

It is equally important to ascertain that the vehicle is not stolen property, he said. “After no claimant comes forward, we put out a notice in newspapers expressing our intent to sell and auction them. After selling it as scrap, the buyer deregisters the vehicle.”

The vehicles are auctioned to make space for other abandoned vehicles in the scrapyards, he said. “Lifting the vehicles isn’t a challenge but auctioning is, as the property belongs to someone else, and hence an NOC is required from the regional transport office (RTO),” he added.

There have been no cases of luxury cars being abandoned on roads, he said. According to official figures obtained from the RTO, each abandoned vehicle occupies approximately 124 square feet on the road. A simple math will reveal the amount of precious public space going to waste.