Even after about eight months of the letter issued by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand in order to investigate the issue raised in a petition filed by a Dehradun resident, no concrete action has been taken. In the letter issued from PMO it was clearly stated that a copy of the reply is to be sent to the petitioner as well, however till date no reply has been sent.

Petitioner Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal told The Pioneer, “Uttarakhand Transport Directorate had proposed 7+1 seats in three wheeler auto rickshaws (Vikrams), even when the Scooter India Company that makes them has made them for 6 passengers and one driver. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) also stated that these three wheelers can carry up to 750 kilogrammes.

In view of these facts I filed an RTI application, though the documents that they sent, which supposedly came from ARAI show 7+1 seats approved. This however is different from the reason that ARAI stated when they declined the proposal of Scooter India of approving 7+1 passengers in Vikrams.”

He further added, “In my view, the documents that I received through RTI have been tampered with, which is why I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister. It is unfortunate that even after the directions issued by PMO on September 19, 2018 to the chief secretary till date no action has been taken.”

When asked about the issue Transport secretary Shailesh Bagauli said, “The department is still investigating it. We have not sent any letters to ARAI or any department concerned as of now.”