Date:01/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/01/stories/2008100161481100.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Subsidy and permits for tourism-friendly auto drivers

Special Correspondent

The Tourism Department will identify the beneficiaries

Government plans to distribute 5,000 permits and autorickshaws with a subsidy of Rs. 25,000
Nehru distributes identity cards, uniforms and FM radio sets to 24 drivers in Chennai

CHENNAI: The Transport Department will issue permits, with a subsidy of Rs. 25,000, to the drivers of tourist-friendly autorickshaws when they buy their own vehicle, Transport Minister K.N. Nehru announced on Monday.

Talking to reporters after flagging off 24 tourism-friendly autorickshaws here, he said the Tourism Department would identify the drivers and send the list to the Transport Department.

The State Government planned to distribute 5,000 new permits and autorickshaws with a subsidy of Rs. 25,000.

Under this scheme, only 800-plus applicants had so far been selected. Those drivers identified by the Tourism Department would get the permit and autorickshaw at a subsidised cost.

Minister for Tourism and Registration Suresh Rajan said the Department trained autorickshaw drivers for 15 days. In each district, the Collector identified the driver who was willing to operate his vehicle as tourism-friendly one.

Mr. Nehru also distributed identity cards, uniforms and FM radio sets to the 24 drivers.

A senior officer of the Tourism Department said 250 drivers in the city and 300 in the districts had been trained, and were operating tourism-friendly vehicles. This helped the drivers to earn more income than the normal autorickshaws.

Besides the training, the drivers were provided periodical counselling.

C.P. Singh, Transport Commissioner; V. Irai Anbu, Secretary, Tourism; Sanwant Ram, Chairman, TTDC; and M. Rajaram, Commissioner of Tourism, participated.