JOIN USWith just two days left for the presentation of the budget for the financial year 2015-16, the Transport Department is marching ahead and has already achieved the current financial year's revenue target of Rs 4,350 crore.
The department’s officials said they are likely to surpass the target and it is expected to touch the mark of Rs 4,500 crore in the remaining 15 days of the month. The next fiscal’s revenue target has already been set at Rs 4,800 crore, they added. The department said the collection has been more than sufficient in 2014-15 and contrary to the previous year (2013-14) when it fell short of Rs 115 crore in achieving its target revenue of Rs 3,786 crore, for the first time in a decade.
Transport commissioner Ramegowda said, “One of the main reasons for achieving the target in advance is increased enforcement activities, including checks on overloading in heavy vehicles, curbing plying of illegal buses and the penalty amount from various violations including illegally plying outstation vehicles. On an average, the registration of vehicles has gone up by 10-12 per cent in each category-four wheelers, two wheelers, trucks, lorries, cabs etc.”
According to statistics, the State has 1.44 crore registered vehicles and among them, 54 lakh vehicles are in the City alone.
However, the State government is yet to amend the Motor Vehicle Taxation Act to tighten its noose around the outstation vehicles plying in the State. In his budget Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had proposed to bring the required amendments to the Act to save the exchequer from losses due to outstation registered vehicles plying in the state. The matter is now pending in the High Court after a PIL was filed against the existing rules for the outstation vehicles.
Meanwhile, work on automated driving test tracks has already been started in Gadag, Madikeri and Ballari as announced in the last budget. Funds are likely be sanctioned to set up similar tracks in Udupi, Kalaburagi, Kolar and Chikkodi in this year's budget, it is said. Also, this year, funds are also likely to be sanctioned to provide robust connectivity to all the RTOs across the State.
Last year's budget had mentioned that the Phase I of Namma Metro in Bengaluru will be completed by March 2015. But it is likely to be completed by the end of 2015. Also, BMRCL is in the process of issuing its first tender for Phase II.