Over 1 lakh vehicles in Pune pending re-registration: RTO

According to the RTO officials, 1,08,000 vehicles, including two-wheelers and Light Motor Vehicles (LMV), have neither renewed their registration nor applied for the vehicle scrappage policy.

RTO officials said that they are receiving good responses after they started sending messages to the registered numbers of the vehicle owners. The messages are being sent to individuals to apply to scrap their vehicle or renew the registration.

Anant Bhosle, Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO),Pune said that despite the information given, people often forget that they have to re-register their vehicles after 15 years, which is why the Pune RTO is spreading awareness through their alert system.

“If people do not pay the green taxes and do not apply for the registration, they will have to pay huge fines such as compounding fees, late fees, and have to face other enforcement acts. Additionally, they won’t get any return benefits of their vehicle insurances,” said Bhosle.

Vehicle owners in Pune gave different reasons behind their ignorance of re-registration. Many people were found unsatisfied with the charges of re-registration, and others are not even aware of the policy.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a notification in 2021 to hike the amount of re-registration, which was effective from 2022. The amount for two-wheelers was Rs 300, which currently is Rs 1000, while the amount for LMV was Rs 600, which now is Rs 5000.

Santosh, a Pune resident, said that he sold his previous bike before it reached 15 years old, but upon hearing the amount, he felt surer in his decision. “I do not come under those one lakh eight thousand people, but if I would have come under it, I might have not paid the tax due to such a hike in amount,” he said.

Another rider also shared similar dissatisfaction regarding the fee structure and said that he was unfamiliar with the information. “I knew about the Pollution Under Control (PUC) Certificate but I had no idea about re-registering my vehicle once it hits 15 years. Despite being unsatisfied with the fees, I appreciate the Pune RTO’s step of sending alert messages to individuals,” he said.

Bhosle said that besides the total amount, Rs 400 and Rs 800 are the inspection charges for motorcycles and LMV, respectively. Then Rs 258 for the postal and smart card for both motorcycles and LMV. In addition to that, if people do not pay and renew the registration, a Rs 300 and Rs 500 fine will be levied every month for motorcycles and LMVs, respectively.

Bhosle added that the fine couple be paid on the Parivarhan website and that drivers of unregistered vehicles could be fined up to Rs 5000 by the traffic police.

“We have started this new initiative to remind people about their vehicles getting 15 years old so that they would not face any trouble. They just have to apply online on the Parivahan mobile app or website and have to pay online,” said Bhosle.

“After carrying the printout of the receipt and other official documents, they have to travel to the Alandi office for their vehicle’s inspection,” he further added.