Chennai: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that all the auto rickshaws operating in the state are fitted with electronic meters in working condition. Periodical checks should be conducted by the Police and Transport departments to find out as to whether the autorickshaws are operated with meters or not, and for that, if any complaint is made, then immediate action should be taken on it. The GO issued in August, 2013 shall be complied with, the first bench of Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy said.
The bench was disposing of a PIL petition from advocate S V Ramamurthy, recently. The petition prayed for a direction to the government to implement the 2013 GO of the Home department, which had been passed on the basis of the status affidavit of the State Chief Secretary filed in the Supreme Court in a similar case filed in 2012. It is in regard to installation of the meters in the autorickshaws, so that the passengers may not be cheated in terms of fare and autos should move on the meter reading.
The bench directed the State to revise the fares/rates of the autorickshaws, periodically in accordance with the fluctuation of the rates of petrol and diesel. A mechanism for revision of rate to the benefit of the autorickshaw holders and also the public and passenger may be evolved by the government in an appropriate manner. The government may come with the system where fluctuation of the rates of petrol/diesel may be taken into account for revision of fare/rates of the autorickshaws, without evolving the long drawn process, but by using the software in such a manner where the rates may be revised, thereby upgrade the system/mechanism automatically on the meters, the bench said.
PTI
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