Transport department collects over Rs 20 lakh road tax from e-rickshaw operators
Saturday, 02 September 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Transport department has collected over Rs 20 lakh of pending road tax from more than 360 e-rickshaw operators in the past 21 days. There are about 2,000 e-rickshaws registered in the regional transport office (RTO) and the department is expected to get about Rs 1.70 crore as road tax in the next few weeks, said the regional transport officer (Administration) Sunil Sharma. He said that the department started the verification process of e-rickshaws in Parade Ground about two weeks ago in association with traffic police to prevent their unrestrained operation in Dehradun.
Over 1,500 drivers were registered in this one week verification campaign but the main aim was to make them aware of the rules under the Motor Vehicle Act regarding traffic violations, taxes and illegal operations among others. They were informed about which room number they should go to in the transport office to pay pending road tax or regarding any other work. This prompted many to approach the RTO and in the past 21 days, over 360 e-rickshaw operators deposited pending road tax of over Rs 20 lakh, said Sharma. He said, “The operators have to pay road tax annually but many of these taxes were pending for the past two or three years but people are getting aware of such things. We are also taking strict action against e-rickshaws operating illegally on prohibited roads and imposing hefty fines on their operators.
The illegal operation on main roads has reduced significantly in the past few weeks due to such consistent actions by the RTO teams across the city.” Sharma said that the department aims to develop a systematic plan for the local transportation system in Dehradun in which e-rickshaws are expected to connect internal areas to main routes. “We are working on it while considering several points of all local transport operators. It will probably take some but it will be done to strengthen the public transportation system of Dehradun,” said Sharma.
