Overview
- The Maharashtra transport department issued the order Friday and directed all Regional Transport Offices to run a special inspection drive targeting scrapped and unauthorised autorickshaws.
- RTOs must identify vehicles declared scrapped (commonly over 15 years old), rickshaws reused for passenger service, and vehicles registered or operated with forged documents and take penal or administrative action.
- Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik and Transport Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar led a meeting that included union leaders such as Shashank Rao and representatives of rickshaw associations before the directive was issued.
- Unions broadly backed removing genuinely unsafe autos but warned that enforcement must be transparent to avoid harassing legitimate permit holders; unions also urged district flying squads to help in implementation.
- All RTOs are required to submit a review of actions taken by October 5, a deadline that will create a state-level record of enforcement and that will show how many vehicles were removed and what penalties were imposed.