Auto painting now a year later

Auto painting now a year later
Deepa Bhasthi | TNN

Bangalore: The transport department made enough changes so that the drivers, at the end of Monday’s strike, had nothing more to complain about.
Transport commissioner Bhaskar Rao told TOI that after a meeting with the ministers, it was decided to extend the deadline to paint 4-stroke autos green by a year to October 1, 2010. “Less than 20% of the autos are 4-stroke. We never said that all autos are to be painted green. The order is that only 4-stroke engines are to be painted in that colour,” Rao reiterated.
Agreeing that the digital meters are expensive, he said that a meeting of meter manufacturers had been called on October 16 and the issue of subsidizing the meters would be discussed. As for smart cards, he said that there was no question of going back on the order. “They contend that every year a sum of Rs 100 is collected and every three years they are made to pay Rs 200 for the cards. We will ask the government not to collect these charges every time.’’
AUTOGRAPH
Deadline for painting autos green extended by a year
Plan to subsidize meters
Smart cards must, but charges for renewal may be waived