No paperwork: Maharashtra to transfer Rs 1,500 to auto drivers’ accounts

Two auto drivers share sanitiser during last year’s lockdown, at Goregaon East. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The state government will start depositing Rs 1,500 into the accounts of registered auto drivers across Maharashtra as part of its relief package for those hit by Covid-19. They won't have to go through any paperwork to receive the compensation, the transport department has clarified.

Officials said they had come across reports that auto drivers were being asked to fill some forms to get the benefit.

As he announced financial assistance to people from various sectors to help them tide over the pandemic, Chief Minister Udhhav Thackeray had last month promised Rs 1,500 to around 12 lakh autorickshaw drivers in the state. Transport minister Anil Parab had said that a Rs 107-crore relief package had been drawn up to recompense them for April 15-30, when the government had started the ‘Break the Chain' initiative.

An auto driver engrossed in a newspaper amid rain brought in by cyclone Nisarga last year. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The money will be transferred to the permit holder's bank account, which has to be Aadhaar-linked, said officials. Information like permit details and vehicle registration number will also be tied to the account to ensure that the money goes to the right person.

Also Read: Mumbai school teacher drives autorickshaw to ferry COVID-19 patients for free

"Since the announcement was made, a lot of political parties, trade unions and NGOs have been asking auto drivers to fill up forms telling them that money had started coming and a form needed to be filled. This was sheer misuse of power to gather data," said a senior transport department official. The department has clarified that the beneficiaries are not required to fill any form. "The money will be transferred through an online process. A dedicated web portal is being readied by the transport department and all those eligible are only supposed to fill up details on the official site and nowhere else to facilitate the payment," a senior official said. Auto drivers, who had demanded Rs 10,000 a month to help them through the crisis, had called the Rs 1,500 compensation a joke on them. Taxi drivers on the other hand had wondered why they were left out of the package.

12 lakh
No. of registered auto drivers in Maharashtra