You’ll pay for VIPS’ special numbers

You will soon have to pay for the fancy number plates of VIPs. The transport department has decided to do away with the provision to allot free number plates with desired registration numbers to the chief minister, state ministers and other VIPs.

So if a VIP wants a special number the government will have to pay for it, which means the taxpayer will eventually foot the bill.

The department created a draft notification proposing these changes last month. At present, government vehicles with red or amber beacons can get attractive number plates for free, with the transport commissioner’s permission.

“If anyone wants a VIP number for their govern- ment car, they will have to pay for it,” said a Mantralaya transport official.

The notification also suggests increasing the fee for these numbers, which will now range from Rs3,000 to Rs3 lakh. The earlier range was from Rs2,000 to Rs1 lakh.

“To get the number ‘ 1’, people will have to pay Rs3 lakh instead of the current Rs1 lakh, and in districts such as Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, people will have to pay Rs4 lakh,” said the official.