Jagatsinghpur: Two different number plates of a car used by Jagatsinghpur District Collector have puzzled denizens and sparked debate across the district.
The car which was being used on rent by Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra for his official purposes since March this year had a white number plate.
As per the Motor Vehicle Act, any vehicle bearing a white number plate is supposed to be used for private purposes. However, denizens find it uneasy that the car had a yellow number plate, earlier.
On being contacted, Jagatsinghpur regional transport officer (RTO) Pratap Kumar Panda said, “As per provisions of the registration permit envisaged in the Motor Vehicle Act, if a private vehicle is given on rent or used as a taxi, a penalty of Rs 10,000 is imposed on the owner.
The fine can be collected as many times as a vehicle is caught during verification. On the other hand, a taxi permit is usually given for a term of five years and it is mandatory that the number plate must be in yellow colour”.
Apart from the above, the vehicle owner has to obtain a fresh fitness certificate every year. A single car need not have several permits, Panda added.
In such a situation, how is it that Mohapatra has been using a white number plate when the vehicle has a taxi permit, why the number plate is not in yellow colour?
Views of Mohapatra on this issue could not be obtained even if he was contacted on his mobile as well as WhatsApp number.
