I bought my first car in 1982, a second-hand FIAT, for Rs. 32000/. It was easy buying a car then: there were no NPAs then and you didn't have to do multiple KYCs or reveal all the secrets of your life in order to get a loan, which is pretty much the SOP today. Assessing the car itself was even easier: one simply checked to see that it had an engine in front and a stepney tyre at the rear, and drove off with a hugely impressed wife. The same exercise today is a nightmare, with one having to check for a range of gadgets which in our times could be found only in the cockpit of a Boeing 747- GPS, Park Assist, Reverse Assist, Dashboard cameras, surround sound speakers, monitor screens, gauges which tell you when you need to refuel, when you need to change gears and when your next toilet break is due, and so on.
The actual driving was easier too, and much more fun. Petrol cost about Rs. 8 per litre, one didn't have to stop at extortive toll plazas every 20 kms, one could make a U-turn at any point if one had missed the favourite dhaba, cops didn't stop you for PUCs, HSRPs and not wearing masks. It used to take me eight hours from Shimla to Delhi; it still takes me that long in a car which costs 30 times my Fiat, running on petrol which costs 12 times more, on roads which have 12 lanes instead of the earlier 2. In Delhi one could park anywhere, even in Khan Market or CP- today a parking slot in Greater Kailash will probably cost more than a two bedroom flat in East Delhi. And things are getting more difficult with each brain wave of Mr. Gadkari, which are more like brain strokes for the likes of us. He has prepared an impressive tool-kit of reforms for us, far more lethal than Greta Thunberg's.
Every "reform" of this govt. (and here Mr. Kejriwal also has to share the blame) has some distinct features: it is ill thought out and badly implemented, what one famous economist calls "jhatka" rather than "halal" reforms; there is no stake holder consultation; no effort is made to build up the required infrastructure before rushing through with the disruptive process; the public is never given an option- it has to comply, or else!; the "reformee" is invariably required to shell out more of his hard earned money, some crony or the other makes pots of money at the citizens' expense; no one is held accountable for the mistakes and glitches.
Take for instance the HSRP (High Security Registration Plates) scheme which is more akin to a gold plated scheme for some. I have been waiting for three months now, after having paid in advance, for my new plate and sticker to be installed. Appointments are not kept, helplines don't ring, emails are not acknowledged, and after every aborted appointment I have to shell out another Rs. 100/ for a fresh date. Every single person I know has a similar experience. And to top it all, I can't take my car out for fear of a Rs. 5000/ fine.
Was the scheme at all necessary? Where is the evidence that it will bring down car thefts, the ostensible reason for introducing it? Every slum kid knows that stolen cars are not sold as a single unit (where the number plates may be relevant)- they are cannibalised within 48 hours and the untraceable parts sold off separately. In any case fake HSRP plates are already available for the asking, at less than the official price! Even a certified idiot (and there are plenty in the govt.) could have told Mr. Kejriwal that affixing 40 lakh registration plates (in Delhi alone) was a mammoth task for which the needed infrastructure should have been created first- plate manufacturers, dealers, affixation teams, proper software- before issuing deadlines and imposing fines. A large number-maybe 40 or 50-vendors should have been empanelled for the job, instead of favouring just a couple who will take years to finish the job- by which time, according to Mr. Gadkari again, our cars will have crossed the 20 year age limit and will have to be trashed! In the meantime another 40 million vehicles would have been added on the roads.
So who gains? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, do the maths, folks. At Rs. 1300/ for a plate/ sticker combo, for the forty lakh cars in Delhi itself, that comes to Rs. 520 crore. Assuming a profit margin of 25% (it's probably much more) that's Rs.130 crore to be shared by just a couple of fat cats, an atmanirbhharta that will last them a few generations. No wonder an activist lawyer has filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court alleging a massive scam in the whole deal. But, as usual, that case will probably be heard after the last HSRP has been installed, though I wouldn't bet on that either. And that's only Delhi. For the country as a whole, there were 253 million vehicles in 2017- that's a lip smacking pie of 30000 crore rupees. Now, I wonder: how many MLAs could one purchase with that?
Take the FASTag scheme, still a work in progress (like most of this govt's plans, even seven years down the line). One cannot fault the basic idea, but why make it mandatory? Why not leave at least two lanes for cash payers? Regulars on the toll roads would themselves opt for it, but the once-a-year types ( like me, going to Shimla from Delhi) would prefer to pay at the toll booth, rather than lock up their moneys and go through the hassle of obtaining/charging their FASTags. Because there's plenty of money involved here too, folks, for some lucky types and the banks. For each tag one has to pay an initial Rs. 200/ and thereafter maintain a minimum balance of Rs. 150/ in your FASTag wallet at all times. So far 21 crore tags have been issued, so that makes for Rs 4200 crore spent on the purchase and Rs. 3200 crore locked up for ever as the minimum balance. There is an additional security deposit of Rs. 200, so that's another Rs. 4200 crore with the banks which in due course will be converted to NPAs. It still takes between 15 and 25 minutes to cross a toll plaza: not all motorists have the grand vision or Alexander like impatience of Mr. Gadkari. This scheme too has now been challenged in the Bombay High Court.
I am not even going into the highway robbery of toll roads, which appear to be the only type of roads now being built by NHAI. The road tax we pay when purchasing a new vehicle should be the means of financing new roads, not an additional toll-tax. There appears to be a Shylock kind of gouging greed involved in charging toll tax, which delivers Rs. 36000 crore to the govt's kitty every year. And this tax is the perfect example of attainment of immortality; it is supposed to end after a few years, when the franchisee has recovered his costs of construction and reasonable profit, but it goes on and on. Some years ago the Delhi High Court had to order that toll fee would no longer be charged on the DND highway. Now the Mumbai HC has issued a similar notice to government for the Mumbai- Pune express way.
Mr. Gadkari, however, has an inventive mind, and he has more goodies lined up in his tool kit. He has just announced that, in a few years, even FASTags will become superfluous as every vehicle will have a GPS which will track it constantly, and every time it crosses a toll plaza the fee will automatically be deducted from your digital wallet. Of course, it also helps that the government can also keep constant surveillance on your movements at the same time. The toll fee is only small change, the real payback will be in tracking all those anti-national seditionists to their dens.
And just when you have installed all these gizmos in your car, and locked up more of your money in various dedicated wallets, it will be time to trash your car. No coherent policy for this has been announced so far, but you can bet your frozen DA instalments that one of the "hamare do" (it may have become "hamare char" by then) will be driving this gravy train when it is flagged off. Mr. Gadkari may pretend that we are a high income country but the fact is that we are a low middle income one. Your average Joe cannot afford to buy a new car every 20 years; no sensible country condemns cars on the basis of their age, but does so on the basis of their fitness. The touted objective of the government is to improve the environment, but in fact the reverse is true.There are 6.8 million light vehicles older than 20 years, the vast majority fitness compliant; scrapping them overnight will create millions of tonnes of non-biodegradable waste. Where is the policy for their recycling, and where is the infrastructure to handle this mammoth challenge? Middle class people who have saved their last penny to buy an aspirational car and kept it in good condition are suddenly being told that they can no longer drive them. Would it not make more sense to tighten pollution norms rather than impose an unbearable burden on the common man and further ruin the environment ? No, sir, it's not concern for the environment that is driving this policy but concern for the the favoured one percent of our capitalist HNIs: the scrapping will lead to the sale of at least two million additional LCVs every year- the auto industry is already licking its chops and queuing up at the SBI counters to buy some more electoral bonds.
And where does this madness, this pretence of being a five trillion economy when we are actually a two trillion one and sliding back, stop? A friend who is in government has pointed out with irrefutable logic that, by the same reasoning, all houses and buildings which are more than 50 years old should be demolished because their engineering is out dated, the materials not eco- friendly, they are not energy efficient, they have poor sanitation, they pose a risk, and so on. I'm not joking- this may happen post 2024 because, in the eyes of this government RK Laxman's common man is not just endangered, he is extinct.
So prepare for the new tool kit for your car. If you already have the standard tool kit in your boot, get rid of it fast. The tools in it can land you in jail for they can all be used against the state: the screwdriver to turn and twist young minds, the wrench to throw a spanner in the govt's works, the jack to "raise" anti-national slogans, the wire to light the fuse of dissent. There are tool kits and tool kits, and Greta Thunberg's is not a patch on Mr. Gadkari's when it comes to raising hell with your life.
You have touched upon a very relevant topic today, Avay. The only highway, and the toll booths thereupon, that I traverse once a year (pre lockdown) is NH 5, from Solan to Delhi. One doesn't really mind paying the tolls as the drive has indeed become smoother and faster, but what enrages me is the time it is taking to repair and widen the stretch from Panipat to Delhi border. And to cap it all a new toll barrier has been set up at Sonepat, to fund the road construction perhaps. This, I agree, is (National) highway robbery ....
ReplyDeleteAn excellent expose of digital highway robbery and Garkari's intent
ReplyDeleteAt least the Greta Thunberg's tool kit had some ethical content!
Soon to be made mandatory Electrical Vehicles (EVs) will again demand scrapping your newly bought fuel driven replacement LCV.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the reasons given in the article, the present hurry (scrap policy) may be to help the car manufacturers liquidate stock of the fuel driven cars before mandating EVs.
Lovely blog in usual depth, style and language of Shri Shukla. Thought provoking! Governments should not bite more than they can chew as their policies should aim at maximum good of maximum people with optimum use of resources. Knee-jerk decisions aimed at playing to the gallery are alwaysat a cost. People have inherent wisdom to wean sincerity from selfishness.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is like written by an educated idiot. Shows the critic view from first line of the blog itself. There are lots and lots of misunderstanding from the blogger about the subject. One small example - HSRP are neither for antitheft nor for tracking. There are so many vehicles (mainly commercial) running with duplicate RPs without proper registration. HSRP is to avoid this.
ReplyDeleteCome on, when you are ex-IAS you can definitely understand if you try to.
Please understand the purpose behind every topic you have written, then you can rewrite the article. Don't doubt about Gadkari's intentions. Mathematical calculations you can sit and do for everything. Do it for roads constructed. You'll get much much higher figures.
In this country if something is not done then people want it. If something is done then people don't want. Irony. After such a long time we have govt that is proactive atleast. Let's support them. You can't keep comparing 1982 car price and sit complaining still.
As a blogger your responsibilities are high. By not understanding the subject yourself, you are misguiding all your readers too. Very very bad point of view.
I think you need to step back & see the 'highway' robbery, being proactive doesn't mean it has been thought through & works unless you are an absolute bhakt.
DeleteSure there might be glitches in implementation. For this reason, you need not doubt intention itself. Do you do your work perfectly while doing the first time itself ? No right ? This is such a vast country. If you keep thinking how to do it right, things never come out of table.
DeleteThings are right infront of your eyes. How much toll collection has increased after FastTag is implemented ? All these money were being 'robbed' by toll operators. That was ok for you right ? Haaaa.. you don't need to be bhakt to understand what's happening. Be broad minded and study what's happening. Not just read xyz blogs and make your opinion...
To use your own phrase- spoken like an uneducated idiot.
DeleteNo issues sir. Consider this uneducated idiots request and be a responsible blogger. Thank you..!
ReplyDeleteEver tried re-registering your car on moving from one state to another? In the first place it is impossible to get a refund of the hefty registration fee paid in the original state of registration even though it is theoretically possible.
ReplyDeleteBut the bigger ordeal is to get the mandatory NOC from the RTO of that state to be able to again register your car in the state to which you have moved. And,pray, why on earth do you need that NOC? Oh, there are so many cars which are stolen and taken to other states. It's just to make sure that your car isn't one of those!
You first have to take out a tracing of the engine number which is embossed on the car chassis at an inaccessible place and attach it with your application for the NOC. I had to use the services of a "consultant" in the first state of registration, and even then it took nearly two months.
And then I had to pay that hefty registration fee all over again in the second state.
I appreciate your view and response regarding this matter. Like to share small point in this matter that we know that a Euro 2 petrol car required CO - .5 & HC - 750 and Euro 4 & Euro 6 petrol car required CO - .3 & HC - 200 in India. Now my 2004 Ford Ikon car's puc test result comes CO - .09 & HC - 166. So we saw that my 17 yrs old petrol car exceeds Euro 6 norms easily. So it is the condition of a car matter not the model / year of the car is important. I recommend old car scrap policy should be logical. Thanks Subrata
ReplyDeleteAbout your 17 year old Ford Ikon emission test -
DeleteLoL :)
RIP that testing station and emission test device :)
God, why thousands of engineers (including me) working so hard to meet BS6, when 17 year old technology is already available.. LoL :)
Though, I agree with - "it is the condition of a car matter not the model / year"
I wonder why an educated person like you spread lies about the initiatives by government. I wonder if there was any scheme launched by government of India perfect? Or were you able to implement any of those schemes to 100% in your tenure. People like you want no changes in the system but at the same time want India to become a developed nation.
ReplyDeleteComing back to the point: BSNL charges 500/- rupees for broadband installation and 1 month security deposit is it a scam too? Or Bharat Gas charges a security deposit and certain amount as processing fee is that a scam!! Oh you might say these are optional and we can opt to not choose those services!!
Any developed country has a provision of having annual registration fee and they also charge you for your number plate every year even if you opt to retain your same number!! New Zealand has mandatory car service intervals even if you haven't driven a single km but after a certain amount of time period you have get your car serviced are those also scams!!
sir you need to study some economic books which take about keeping an economy afloat and how money circulation in an economy brings food on table to the poorest. You come from a generation where saving maximum amount of money in bank was preferred but that slows the economy.
For all those gullible readers who insist on defending this govt's badly thought out and hopelessly implemented dubious "reforms" here is a mail I received from a reader on the HSRP scheme. It speaks for itself. I have omitted his name for obvious reasons:
ReplyDelete" When this scheme started way back in 2000, about 20 Type Approvals were granted and all except me, had foreign collaborators from whom prototype samples were obtained and submitted for tests to testing agencies nominated for the purpose.
I'm the only one who obtained a Type Approval on indigenously made HSRP prototype samples without a foreign collaborator ONLY after the then Director of ARAI visited my unit and asked me to make a HSRP in his presence.
20 years on I have NOT sold single HSRP despite court cases and all else.
Tamil Nadu government in Feb 21, resurrected the old tender document created by the HSRP gang and tweaked it in such a way to eliminate all others except 2 to finally qualify.
A pre bid meeting was held on 3rd March 2021 wherein 12 type approved vendors were present at the Transport Commissionerste in Chennai wherein I raised the issue of the OEM's who are affixing HSRP at the point of sale in the dealer's showroom effective 1st April 2019 that the HSRP affixed by them on newly registered vehicles, more particularly two and three wheelers do not comply with the Type Approval certificates issued to them with reference to Rule 51 of CMVR.
Video of all that I said and pictures of HSRP that is compliant and non-compliant were taken by the tender committee.
Issuing clarifications, the transport commissnerate states it is a quality matter and it's up to the testing agencies to look into the subject there by abdicating their responsibility if enforcement of a SPECIFICATION which is different from quality as they put it.
The author of the tender document and the the one contributing to it's clarifications is the HSRP gang.
HSRP is now safety component under rule 124 and if defective it has to be replaced by the OEM
Approximately 80000 two and three wheelers are being affixed with Type APPROVED Non-compliant HSRP and the vehicle owners have no clue of this potential violation.
Over 2 crore such vehicles are having defective HSRP band growing by over 80000 each working day.
This could be bigger than the VW storm on pollution control device since OEM'S will be held responsible for defective components.
The OEM'S were mostly unaware.
SIAM must have been unaware.
I will be pleased to provide you with my credentials and show you the samples for your information.
Given the opportunity, I will deem it a pleasure to give you the evidence.
The Motor vehicles department of Kerala appears the only state that published advertisements educating citizens on the Dimensions of HSRP and the size of Alphabets and numerals on HSRP and the consequent penalty for non compliance which was pointed out in the prebid meeting and submitted in writing.
It is interesting to note that ALL THE TYPE APPROVED CERTIFICATE HOLDERS WHO HAVE FOREIGN COLLABORATORS are the one's who are violating rule 51 of CMVR .
AIS-159 is the Automobile Industry standard for HSRP and it does not mention anywhere in the document the dimensions of letters and numbers on the HSRP even though the document in its SCOPE mentions in unequivocal terms that the document includes dimensions. Every type Approval certificates also includes dimensions and it will provide evidence of violation.
Meanwhile, the HSRP gang is laughing at the inability of citizens to challenge their writ and manage the implementation of HSRP as they please.
Tamil Nadu is a dry run.
Other states are waiting for good times to come."
Dear Sir it is always pleasure to read your blog which are not only informative but full of wit, beautiful expressions and relevant information. Kudos to you.
ReplyDeleteWell mentioned. Fastags do not guarantee smooth quick sailing as promised thru toll gates. You are still stuck for jams due to Argumentive travellers , faulty RFID readers , lane crossers , etc etc.
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