Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 3: Different departments of the state government spend thousands of rupees on the vanity numbers on the official vehicles of their officers.
Many of the government vehicles can be seen with a vanity registration number on its number plate, but that vanity number is being issued by the Regional Transport Office after the minimum payment of Rs.5000. The Regional Transport office charges minimum amount of Rs.5000 for vanity number, and whenever two or more people apply for the same vanity number, RTO calls for open bid, which may reach more than a lakh.
The officers and ministers are enjoying the vanity number on their official vehicles with the fee paid from the department's official account. Sources in RTO office informed that almost all the departments, especially the police officials and ministers apply for vanity number, which they may consider as their lucky number and pay the minimum charges of the vanity number, and whenever two or more people apply for the same number the department settles it with the person, who applies for it.
Sources also informed that the department that applies for the number pays the fee. It has also been noticed that only after the computerization of the RTO office, the government departments have started paying for vanity numbers and Token tax.
"Earlier, 80% government vehicles use to ply without paying token tax to the RTO office," sources alleged. "It is only after the computerization of the RTO office that the state government departments have started paying token tax of their vehicle, many of the old government vehicles must be plying without token tax in the state," he added. |
