Monday, March 28, 2011

2/3rd parking fine amount goes to towing vans;

DNA; Alok Deshpande; Monday, March 28, 2011,
When a car parked in a ‘No Parking’ zone is towed away and its owner fined, it is believed that the money goes to the traffic department’s treasury.
However, data procured under the Right to Information (RTI) When a car parked in a ‘No Parking’ zone is towed away and its owner fined, it is believed that the money goes to the traffic department’s treasury.shown that only Rs100 out of the Rs300 penalty goes to the government treasury, while the remaining amount goes to owners of private towing vans that the department has hired.
Replying to an application filed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activist Chetan Pedanekar, the traffic department gave figures for the past five years. These show that the department got Rs15,96,77,550 in fines from 2006 to 2010. At the same time, private van owners got Rs23,94,99,550.
“There are only 59 towing vans across the city. Won’t it be possible for the traffic authorities to have 59 vans of their own? Why do they need a private contractor for this? If the department has its own vehicles, the money which is going to private contractors could be diverted to the government,” said Pedanekar. He added that the present system only benefits private contractors.
According to another reply given by the traffic department, the private workers working on towing vans need to get written permission from the traffic police authority on duty to unlock the car while towing. At the same time, the traffic authority on duty and the workers on the towing van can be held responsible for any loss of goods from the vehicle. A complaint against them can be lodged in the police station concerned.
The department has also clarified that putting up and maintaining traffic signs is the responsibility of the BMC. As such, the traffic department cannot be held responsible for a lack of ‘No Parking’ signs.