'Auto'nomy yes, action no

NEW DELHI: Only five out of 100 autorickshaw drivers complained against are prosecuted. This is the real reason behind the continued fleecing of customers.
Less than 2,000 drivers have paid penalties, as against the 35,049 complaints received till June 23.‘‘Autorickshaw drivers overcharge, refuse to ply by meter and even misbehave without being pulled up,’’ Gautam Chatterjee, an author on transport issues, said.
While 1,992 drivers have turned up at the State Transport Authority’s (STA) office to pay the fines, the rest continue to ply their autorickshaws freely.
The helpline launched in last September, the number — 9604-400-400 — was widely publicised. ‘‘The transport department had urged commuters to call and complain against erring drivers. But the absence of prompt punitive action has eroded people’s confidence,’’ said Anil Sood of Chetna, a city consumer group.
A transport department official said the registration papers of most of these vehicles cited wrong addresses. ‘‘In a number of cases, the original owners whose names are mentioned in the transport department records no longer own the vehicles. While the autorickshaws have changed hands, the ownership addresses in the official records haven’t,’’ he explained.
In fact, out of the 33,439 notices issued, the transport department has got back 16,300 notices. ‘‘These have returned undelivered due to non-availability of permit-holders,’’ an STA official said.
Delhi state transport commissioner Sindhushree Khullar said the department planned to impound autorickshaws whose notices have come back.
‘‘We have started publicising the numbers of these vehicles and have asked their owners to pay the fines. If they still don’t come, their autorickshaws will be impounded,’’ she said.