Can cops rein in their own autos?

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The efforts of the city corporation, traffic police and the Regional Transport Authority to streamline auto permits and auto rickshaw stands in the city may go haywire as many autos with city permits are owned by police officers with drivers from outside.

This unholy nexus between auto rickshaw drivers and police will foil the move to regularise auto permits, it is generally felt.

A meeting of the traffic regulatory committee recently decided that priority would be given to city residents while issuing city permits.

However, the decision might not be effectively implemented as the registered owners of several autos are policemen.

During a debate on the regularisation of the operation of auto rickshaws in the city in a recent corporation council meeting, opposition councillor P.S. Prakash alleged that several autos were registered in the names of police personnel or their benamis.

“A large number of unauthorised auto rickshaws are owned by police officials with the police headquarters as the registered address,” he said. Most of these autos are driven by people from other districts or even from other states.

Meanwhile, Regional Transport Officer T.J. Thomas said that though some auto rickshaws had been owned and sub-leased by police personnel and even government officials, this was no more common now.

“This will not affect the drive to streamline city permits. We will give permits to only genuine city residents for whom the vehicle is the only means of a livelihood,” he said.

It is estimated that around 15,000 auto-rickshaws operate on the streets of Kochi, even though most of them have no city permits.

The authorities have issued only 4000 city permits till 2004, and most of them are defunct now. There are only 2,500 auto rickshaws with city permits now operating in the city.