Supreme Court fines Tamil Nadu Government Rs 10,000
Posted on: 23/Jul/2013 2:21:48 PM
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the Tamil Nadu government for delaying the implementation of meter-based tariff system in auto rickshaws, even as the state sought one month’s additional time to introduce new fares.
The state government was supposed to file a compliance report on Monday as the apex court had earlier set a two-month deadline to revise the fare.
The apex court had on May 6 directed the state government to implement the new fares for auto rickshaws in Tamil Nadu by July 6 and to file a compliance report pertaining to it on July 22, following a suit filed by TN-based lawyer S.V. Ramamoorthy, who has been waging a legal battle for over two years to get the auto drivers go by meter fares.
When the hearing came up in the SC on Monday, the TN authorities pleaded with the court to accord additional time of one month to implement the scheme. The advocate general representing the state said that one more month would be required as the state plans to introduce GPS-enabled meters and that more discussions would be needed.
The case was heard by Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 to the state government for the delay.
The judges rebuked the TN authorities for having failed to comply with the two deadlines, including that of July 6, following a direction issued by it December last. The meter fares in TN have not been revised since 2007, when Rs 14 was fixed as minimum charge for 2 km and Rs 6 per additional kilometer. Ever since, petrol prices have been revised over 10 times, but the meter fares remain unchanged.
