Delhi govt waives custody charges on impounded vehicles till Sept 30

The Delhi government on Monday waived custody charges till September 30 on vehicles impounded by the Transport Department and the traffic police, providing relief to hundreds of vehicle owners in city

The Delhi government on Monday waived custody charges till September 30 on vehicles impounded by the Transport Department and the traffic police, providing relief to hundreds of vehicle owners in the city.

In an order, the Transport Department said in view of the Covid situation and an advisory issued by the government of India on June 17, parking/custody charges imposed under Rule 16 of Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Rules 2019 are waived off.

The order will be valid till September 30.

In its June 17 advisory to states, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had suggested extending the validity of various kinds of motor vehicle documents like driving licenses, fitness test and registration certificates, that could not be renewed due to lockdown, up to September 30.

Vehicles impounded for any violations of the Motor Vehicles Act by enforcement teams of the Transport Department or the Delhi Traffic Police are slapped with custody charges if their owners do not get them released within 48 hours. Depending upon the type of vehicle, custody charges ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 are imposed per day.

A senior Transport Department officer said hundreds of such vehicles are kept at impounding pits at Burari, Dwarka and Sarai Kale Khan.

"Due to Covid and lockdown, many vehicle owners could not get their impounded vehicles released and accumulated custody charges running into several thousand. One such vehicle had a total custody charge of Rs 2 lakh," he said.

Chandu Chaurasia, vice president of Capital Drivers' Welfare Association, thanked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot for the waiver.

"Nearly 300-400 commercial vehicles including autos, taxis and paratransit vehicles are lying at impounding pits and their owners are unable to pay the custody charges running as high as Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 in many cases," Chaurasia said.