The enforcement action against vehicles violating rules in Delhi is getting affected as the pits owned by the transport department are crammed with little spaceleft to park more impounded vehicles.
The department has three pits where impounded vehicles are kept – in Burari, Sarai Kale Khan and Dwarka.
Department sources said that the overcrowded pits were hampering action against e-rickshaws, many of which are unregistered and do not have number plates.
When TOI visited the impounding pit at Sarai Kale Khan recently , there was hardly any space left for more vehicles to be kept. There were three rows on both sides with bikes, autos and e-rickshaws, There was just enough space for a person to walk. There were some buses and lorries too.
Most of the impounded vehicles were e-rickshaws, followed by motorbikes and autos.
A staff member present at the site said: “We keep auctioning vehicles about every three months, still the space is not enough.”
The cases increase during winter as the department mandate is also to catch overloaded vehicles.
A senior official said: “Every day around fifty to sixty vehicles are impounded in Delhi and the challan for transport related violations is higher than traffic. Many vehicle owners who do nothave the papers do not take their vehicles for months.”
While the traffic department acts against red-light violations and safety violations, the transport department enforces pollution control rules like valid PUC and overloaded vehicles.
Vehicles impounded for any violation of the Motor Vehicles Act by the enforcement teams of the department or the Delhi Traffic Police are slapped with custody charges if their owners do not get vehicles released within 48 hours. Depending on the type of vehicle, custody charges range from Rs 50-1,500 per day. “Also, in some cases the custody charges are so high that the fines are higher than the cost of the vehicles,” he said.
In the case of e-rickshaws, the situation is more problematic as many of them are unregistered and do not have number plates. They cannot be challaned and impounding becomes the only option.
“There are also some cases when the driver does not have documents and he does not inform the owner of the vehicles for a long time,” he said.
Another official said, “At Sarai Kale Khan and Burari, the pits are up to capacity. At Dwarka, there is some space.” He said that the department will write to landowning agencies like DDA for more land.
