Chennai: It has been four years since the Tamil Nadu government assured the Supreme Court that it will fix electronic meters in auto rickshaws.
Years have passed but the assurance and the court order is yet to be implemented in letter and spirit.
In 2013, former CM J. Jayalalithaa announced that the state would procure the meters at a cost of '80 crore, but authorities are yet to install auto meters and establish a dedicated control room to fix the offenders fleecing norms.
Complaints are still pouring in from the commuters that half of the autos in Chennai are plying with non-functional auto metres or with no metres at all. They say that fleecing is more rampant in the vicinity of shopping malls and Chennai Central and Egmore railway stations.
“Though it actually cost Rs 40 to travel three kilometers, the drivers demand a minimum of Rs 100. Though the fares they charge have reduced after private applications for booking autos came in, it is still exorbitant,” said R. Lavanya, a resident of T. Nagar.
R. Manoj, an auto driver at Triplicane explained, ideally, in an auto, information about the base fare charged and the toll-free number to be contacted for complaint redressal must be stuck. But, 80 per cent of the autos neither have the information nor working metres.
Sources at the transport department said calls regarding fleecing on norms have come down drastically. Initially, when a complaint was received with the details of the complainer and the registration number of the auto, it was forwarded to the nearest Regional Transport Office (RTO) that further charges a fine or sends a notice.
When contacted, an official from the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (in-charge for the project) said, a control room would be set up by November, this year and the meters would be installed within February.
