Belthangady: Unexplained jump in cost of retro-reflective tape draws ire of vehicle owners

Belthangady: Unexplained jump in the cost of fitting retro-reflective tape and rear marking plate has drawn the ire of vehicle owners here. They claimed that the department is looting them for issuing fitness certificates.

It is mandatory to fix retro-reflective tape and rear marking plates on commercial vehicles for issuing vehicle Fitness Certificates (FC). Moreover, the tapes must be fixed at the authorized center identified by the RTO, they said.

The reflective tape is being charged at Rs 160 per meter. it costs about Rs 1400 for a pickup truck whereas Rs 5,000 is charged for buses and lorries, they alleged.

Earlier, it used to cost only about Rs 200 for fixing the tape for every vehicle. The exorbitant cost is a daylight loot, they claimed.

Last Wednesday also vehicle owners protested about the issue. The installation of stickers was stopped after the intervention from local MLA Harish Poonja.

The problem is only at Bantwala, Puttur RTOs, vehicle owners said.