Day 1: No auto gets e-meter

On the first day of the proposed installation of electronic meters on newly registered autorickshaws, not one meter was eventually installed. This was because the seven new autos that came to the RTO offices had mechanical meters fitted on them.

While the test track of the Andheri RTO is at Lokhandwala complex, the one for Wadala RTO is at Vikhroli. “In total, seven autos came to RTO offices—five at Andheri and two at Wadala. The moment we spotted mechanical meters on these new autos, our officers sent them packing,” a top transport official said. In a bid to prevent automen from overcharging and cheating, the Maharashtra government had made it mandatory for electronic meters to be fitted in all newly registered autos from March 1, 2012, and in older autos in a phase-wise manner from April 1.In fact, various committees and consumer bodies had recommended the implementation of e-meters, but the government had been sitting on the issue. Autos have to usually pass a regular fitness test at RTOs, and now fitness certificates will not be issued if electronic meters are not installed.While e-meters have to be installed in the Pimpri-Chinchwad civic limits by May 2012, in other A-category civic bodies like Pune, they have to be installed by July 1.