CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu transport department has ordered a probe across all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the state after it found that hundreds of Bharat Stage (BS)-IV vehicles, banned by the Supreme Court, were registered illegally over the last two years.
According to documents accessed by TNIE, at least 315 BS-IV vehicles, including sports utility vehicles and luxury two-wheelers, were registered illegally between November 2020 and September 2022 at South Chennai (West) RTO in Valasaravakkam, leading to an estimated road tax evasion of Rs 23 lakh.
A section of RTO officials and employees of a private firm engaged in issuing smart registration cards are under the transport department’s scanner in the matter. The Supreme Court order banning sale and registration of BS-IV vehicles came into effect on April 1st 2020. The court imposed the ban as emission levels of BS-IV compatible engines failed to meet the pollution norms prescribed by the Union government for improving air quality in the country.
SUVs worth Rs 20 to Rs 35 lakh were allegedly sold for Rs 10 to Rs 13 lakh by vehicle dealers in the black market after the ban took effect. A chunk of such vehicles were registered illegally in connivance with the employees of RTO offices. Incidentally, a section of buyers had also purchased these vehicles without knowing that they were banned BS-IV vehicles.
‘Scam carried out using backlog option in software’
The market value of 315 vehicles is approximately estimated to be between Rs 68 crore and Rs 75 crore. The scam broke out two months ago when the owner of an SUV approached an RTO office for name transfer. RTO employees told the owner that his vehicle details could not be found on Vahan software used by the department and asked him where he had first registered the vehicle.
During the inquiry, it came to light that details about engine number and chassis number of the vehicle were manipulated and incorrect manufacturer details were uploaded in the software while registering the vehicle. The scandal was carried out using a backlog option in the software for which access was given only to RTOs.
“Under the pretext of re-registration of other state vehicles, employees at the RTO office have created records for BS-IV vehicles on Vahan software. It appears that they have manipulated the registration, engine and chassis numbers. Hence, these BS -IV vehicles do not have first registration data on Vahan software,” an official said. In July 2020, the apex court granted 10 days of relaxation for registering BS-IV vehicles due to imposition of Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.
“During this period, a large number of BS-IV vehicles were registered and sold across the country. But those details have not been uploaded on Vahan software,” added a source. Following this, a team of officials headed by transport commissioner L Nirmal Raj conducted an inquiry at the Valasaravakkam RTO office and ordered a detailed inquiry of records across all RTOs in Tamil Nadu. A senior transport official said, “Once the probe is complete, all these vehicles will be blacklisted and criminal action will be initiated against errant officials.”