Delhi government mulls subsidy for auto, taxi drivers

New Delhi: In a significant development, transport minister Satyendar Jain has asked his officials not to implement the amended fee structure of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) for autorickshaws and taxis in wake of the Union government’s notification which came into force on January 9.

The minister has said that in case it was mandatory to increase fee for autos and taxis for the various services the state transport authority provides to them, the city government should compensate the drivers for the same. The instructions have been issued by the minister in wake of reports that auto unions could demand hike in fares following the steep increase in the prices for various categories of services. Autorickshaw drivers form a strong votebank of the Aam Aadmi Party, which swept the Assembly elections 2015 with their strong support across the city.

In his notings to his officers, a copy of which is in possession of this newspaper; Mr Jain said: “To promote public transport, we should not increase charges so steeply.”

According to the notification, fitness certificate fee has been increased to Rs 600 from Rs 200 and Rs 300 for autos and taxis respectively. Besides, if an owner of the vehicle fails to get fitness certificate before it expires, he or she will have to give an additional fee of Rs 50 for each day of delay besides the regular charge.The late fee has been revised from Rs 20 per day to Rs 50 per day, late fee charge for the first day has been revised from Rs 320 to Rs 700. In case of the renewal of the licence, the fee has been revised from Rs 200 to Rs 400 and for duplicate Registration Certificate from Rs 350 to Rs 750. The fee for conducting a driving test has gone up from Rs 50 to Rs 300.

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh General Secretary Rajender Soni said that there has been steep hike in the charges in all categories since January 9. “We have demanded that the government should rollback the five fold hike in these charges, or we will be forced to launch a nationwide agitation. The fee should have been increased in slabs over a period of time, not in one go.”

The notification was issued by the Delhi Government a week after the Union Ministry of Road Transport notified the 22nd amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, which it passed in July last year.