NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Just as the road accidents in the state are witnessing an exponential rise, majority of which involve two-wheelers, more than 50,000 new two-wheelers arrive on the Goan roads, every year, further stressing the already strained state transport infrastructure. The state transport department annually registers on an average 73,000 vehicles of all kinds.
According to the recently released Goa Economic Survey 2016-17, new two-wheelers, which arrived on the state roads during the financial year 2016-17 (up to February 2017) are approximately 51,858 – 71.06 per cent – of the over 70,000 vehicles as registered by the department of transport, during the same period. These include 50,210 – 68.87 per cent of the total vehicles registered – new two-wheelers in the non-transport category and 1,648 – 2.19 per cent of the total vehicles registered – new two-wheelers in the transport category.
As per the traffic police statistics, during the year 2016, altogether 228 persons were killed on Goan roads – 186 bikers and 42 pillion riders – in two-wheeler accidents, from January 1 to December 31.
A highly placed official in the department of transport (DoT), admitting that the number of two-wheelers registered every year, has reached alarming proportion, stated that there is no ceiling of any kind yet on the registration of vehicles by the department.
Incidentally, the number of total motor vehicles registered in the state stands at 12,29,474 as on February 28, 2017, as against the cumulative number of driving licences issued standing at 6,64,910, till the same date.
The DoT official informed that the number of driving licences issued by it is half of the number of motor vehicles registered in the state, as one person/ one family is in possession of more than one vehicle, may be one or two four-wheelers and two or three two-wheelers, on an average. “As a person can drive light motor vehicles or two-wheelers on the same licence, the number of licences issued is less than the number of vehicles registered by the department,” the official noted.
In comparison to the 71.06 per cent two-wheelers registered out of the total number of vehicles, during the ongoing fiscal year, the percentage of private cars and jeeps in the non-transport category, as registered by the department of transport is very low and stands at 20.25 per cent.
The Economic Survey also informs that the registration of vehicles decreased in 2013-14 (70,990) as compared to 2012-13 (72,763); however, the same increased to 74,563 in 2015-16. The number of vehicles registered during 2016-17, up to February 2017 was 71,233.
Meanwhile, the department of transport official also maintained that the government, in its recent state budget has marginally reduced the Motor Vehicle Tax collected by the department at the time of registration. “This was done as the dealers of the high-end vehicles in Goa had requested the government to reduce the said tax, since only few high-end vehicles were sold in the state annually, and charging heavy tax from such customers would deter them from purchasing such vehicles in Goa,” it was informed.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, in his budget speech had stated, “Last year, the Motor Vehicle Tax collected at the time of registration of vehicles, was marginally enhanced. In the case of high-end vehicles, the purchasers chose to evade the levy by registering their vehicles in other states, which have much lower incidence of tax, thereby causing loss to the state exchequer. I propose to rationalise this levy.”