Surtis spend Rs 4.5 crore for fancy car numbers

SURAT: Surtis spent Rs 4.53 crore till February 9 this financial year to get a 'distinctive number' for their newly purchased cars. They have also paid Rs 11.52 crore in fines for various types of violations. In fact, Surat regional transport office has achieved 90 per cent of the tax collection target of Rs 183 cr with two months to go before the financial year ends.
"The year is not over as yet and we are likely to net another Rs 50 lakh by auctioning new registration numbers.This will help us cross the Rs 5 cr mark," regional transport officer, Surat, J N Waghela said.
It is a common knowledge that almost every 14-year-old in a middle class family rides his own scooty or Activa, at least to tuition classes. When caught by traffic cops, they pay Rs 100 and speed away without even bothering to collect a receipt.
"In a city that has nearly 15 lakh vehicles, fine collection is not a problem at all," an officer from the RTO said. "This is a city where in paying taxes and fines is not a big problem for the people, but number of vehicles is growing at an alarming rate and this will cause a lot of problems if the infrastructure development doesn't match the pace of vehicle growth," he added.