CNG-run Auto-rickshaws in Ctg CitySeveral thousand remain unregistered, untaxed
Several thousand unregistered CNG-run auto-rickshaws have been operating in Chittagong city for more than one year, with more adding to the current fleet every day, since a couple of cases regarding their enrolment remain to be solved.
Though the owners and drivers are not facing legal harassment owing to the High Court's stay orders, the government is losing millions of taka in revenue, which it could have raked in had it registered the auto-rickshaws, numbering between 4,000 and 6,000 now.
Sources in the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Chittagong, said each registration needed a one-time payment of Tk 14,000, while each owner was charged Tk 4,000 monthly as the vehicle's fitness fee and road and income taxes.
If the figures are taken into account, the government loses an estimated Tk 5.6 crore in one-time revenue for every 4,000 vehicles, excluding the monthly charge.
Currently, 13,000 registered CNG-run auto-rickshaws are in operation in the port city, said owners.
The Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 prohibits operation of unregistered vehicles.
Masudul Hasan, deputy commissioner (traffic-north) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said that because of High Court's stay orders in response to several writ petitions, punitive action could not be taken against the unregistered auto-rickshaws.
One petitioner, Md Harunur Rashid, general secretary of Chattagram Auto-rickshaw-Auto-tempo Sramik Union, said the latest stay order, the period of which expired on March 12, was extended for three more months.
In the petition, he prayed for enrolment of the unregistered vehicles, while in the stay order, the HC asked the authorities concerned not to halt their operation.
Owners and drivers said the unregistered vehicles started to operate in the port city in late 2013, and several cases had been filed regarding their registration since then.
Asked why the government is not registering new auto-rickshaws, MAN Siddique, secretary to Road Transport and Highways Division, said it was because there were several cases under trial in court. Fresh enrolment will depend on the court order, he said.
Asked about the process, he said new auto-rickshaws were registered in batches, and the number of new enrolments was fixed on the basis of demand and route capacity.
The government invites applications through a gazette notification after fixing the number, added Md Sirajul Islam, deputy director of BRTA, Chittagong region.
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