Transport minister

road accidents

Motorists

Diwakar Raote

Octroi

Maharashtra

Tamil Nadu

plans to introduce a tax which will create a fund to compensate those grievously injured inplanning to buy a car may soon have to shell out more tax to pay for those injured in road accidents in the state. Transport Ministerhas mooted this proposal, which intends to give financial assistance of Rs 8,000 per month for victims in urban areas and Rs 5,000 in rural areas.The percentage of tax has not been decided yet by the transport department. Currently, a motorist has to pay anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 as part of Road Safety Fund, which was introduced only in November 2016. Apart from that, car buyers are also charged Motor Vehicle Tax that varies from 9 to 20 per cent, sales tax of 12.5 per cent andof four per cent.An official from transport department explained that the current road safety fund has proved to be inadequate so far. The new tax, if and when levied, is expected to provide financial assistance to those victims who have been grievously injured or crippled for life.is second only toin the number of those who die or are grievously injured in road accidents.In 2016, Maharashtra recorded a total of 63,000 accidents in which about 12,800 people died while another 39,800 were injured.Those applying to the court for compensation have to go through a tedious process and the cost in incurred by the state government. An official explained, “The money given as compensation to the road accident victim is also collected from the 125 crore tax payers of the state which might also include farmers and others who have never owned a vehicle. A separate tax will create a fund, which will come from those who own motor vehicles in the state.”Transport Minister, Diwakar Raote said, “Through the new tax system, we wanted to give financial assistance to those who have been injured for life. They should be able to support themselves.”