August 2006 Editorial

Something to think about - August 2006
An end to the towing menace! - By Gaurang Damani

In response to a PIL filed by Sion-resident Gaurang Damani (author of this newsletter) in Mumbai High court against the Mumbai traffic police, the judges said that the entire system of awarding contracts to towing operators suffers from a serious legal flaw.

	Vehicles towed	Amounts collected
2004	4,34,641	Rs 13.83 crores
2005	4,46,597	Rs 14.26 crores
2006 (Jan-Jun)	1,71,804	Rs 4.32 crores

It was cited in the court, that if the PIL had not been filed in October 2005, the amounts collected would have been much higher. The PIL has resulted in a minimum savings of about Rs 6 crores to the residents of Mumbai.

The Mumbai High court has called for a halt to the unregulated manner in which the traffic police and the towing contractors operate in the city. The court has instructed the traffic police to frame guidelines for awarding contracts to towing agencies within four months. Out of 116 towing contractors 16 were owned by relatives of traffic police personnel. They have been removed from service and another 41 too have been de-commissioned. Only 59 tow trucks are operational, and these too will be de-commissioned within 4 months when tenders will be invited.

The traffic police’s advocate admitted that there was a need for only about 75 towing trucks in Mumbai, but the traffic police had deployed 116 in the city.

From the period January to June 2006, the police had towed 171,804 vehicles and were claiming that they had received only 7 complaints for damages and that they had compensated all 7 vehicles. This seemed to be grossly misconstrued.

The judges RM Lodha and NH Patil said “the entire towing service operation in Mumbai is infested with nepotism and favouritism”. Judges said anyone’s car that has been damaged due to towing in the last 6 months can lodge a complaint and claim compensation with the nearest traffic chowky. Also the future guidelines will have to include clear instructions on how the car owner will be compensated in case of damage to the vehicle.

Lastly the judges also directed that no towing contractor can open a parked car unless there is a written order by the traffic police to do so.