HYDERABAD: Cashing in on high insurance premium rates, several officials in Regional Transport Authority (RTA) are encouraging fake vehicle insurance to complete various transactions.
As per the rules, transactions like a renewal of registration of a vehicle after 15 years, transfer of ownership, issuing of NOCs, vehicle hypothecation and national and state permits require valid vehicle insurance for the documents to be processed.
However, vehicles without valid insurance are allowed to undergo fitness tests and owners need to be physically present along with documents at the RTA office for verification. In fact, vehicle owners who do not have an insurance certificate can be penalised with Rs 1,000. However, the scenario is quite contrary at most of the RTA offices in the State as the above-mentioned transactions are allowed to be processed without valid insurance. It’s learnt that both agents and officials are hand in glove and earning lakhs through irregularities in fake insurance. That’s not all; many vehicle owners are provided with the same insurance policy number.
Since it costs Rs 8,000 for obtaining valid third-party insurance for auto-rickshaws, drivers approach agents and pay around Rs 3,000 for undergoing vehicle fitness. The actual fee for fitness of three-wheelers is Rs 700, where agents pay Rs 800 per fitness certificate to the authority concerned despite not having insurance, said a source.
Over 90 per cent of autos, RTC buses and even a few school buses and vans tend not to have proper insurance but agents provide a printed copy of fake insurance. Even though vehicle owners save one-fourth of the cost, they stand to lose out on the benefits of the insurance policy coverage in case of damages or losses due to an accident or fire.
The Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union general secretary M Dayanand said fake insurance is a major scam in the RTA which is not being looked into. “Every Regional Transport Authority office in Hyderabad witnesses 300 vehicles undergoing fitness checks and many of them do not have valid insurance. We want the RTA to link the vehicle data with insurance regulatory authority to ensure transparency,” he insists.