Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The revenue generated by the state Transport Department has risen fourfold over a period of 10 years. This can be attributed to the fact that the entire system of revenue generation and collection has been converted to digital or online mode.
In the financial year 2013-14, the state Commissionerate of Transport collected revenue worth Rs 361.54 crore, which has increased to Rs 1390.68 crore during 2023-24 until the month of February. This is the highest-ever collection of revenue by the Transport Department, and the figure is only going to increase till the end of March 2024; with the figure likely to cross the Rs 1500 crore mark, an official said.
It should be noted that during the last three years, the revenue generated by the Transport Department has been over Rs 1,000 crore annually. The reason attributed to this is the manner in which fees and fines are collected by the department. There are various fees to be paid by vehicle owners-from registration of a new vehicle to renewal of registration, issue of permits, driving licence issue and renewal, issue of pollution certificates, etc.
Then there is revenue generated from violations of rules under the Motor Vehicle Act. The entire system of netting violators, imposing fines, and collecting them has been converted to digital mode, and payment has to be made through online mode. In the event that any violator fails to pay the fine online, the matter is transferred to the court.
Currently, there are more than 50 lakh vehicles on the road in Assam, including private vehicles and commercial ones, from two-wheelers upwards. In FY 2022-23, a total number of 5,73,958 vehicles were registered in Assam.
Regarding collection of revenue over the last 10 years, the figures state that Rs 361.54 crore was collected in 2013-14; Rs 378.98 crore in 2014-15; Rs 453.93 crore in 2015-16; Rs 546.65 crore in 2016-17; Rs 676.32 crore in 2017-18; Rs 737.55 crore in 2018-19; Rs 847.64 crore in 2019-20; Rs 738.80 crore in 2020-21; Rs 1022.67 crore in 2021-22; Rs 1361.23 crore in 2022-23; and Rs 1390.68 crore in 2023-24 (till February 8) has been collected.
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