The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Friday gave its nod to a significant amendment to the state's motor vehicles taxation law, introducing a new road safety cess on newly purchased vehicles. The move aims to generate dedicated funds for improving road safety infrastructure across the state.
New Tax Structure for Vehicle Buyers
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar presented the Telangana Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill in the House, detailing the new levy. The road safety tax has been fixed at Rs 2,000 for two-wheelers, Rs 5,000 for light motor vehicles, and Rs 10,000 for heavy vehicles. The minister clarified that auto-rickshaws and tractor trolleys will be exempt from this new charge.
Prabhakar explained that this step follows amendments made by the Central Government to the Motor Vehicles Act. He noted that a similar system is already operational in several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat for newly purchased or registered vehicles.
Funds Earmarked for Safety and Testing Upgrades
The revenue collected from this tax will be deposited into a special account and will be primarily utilized for enhancing road safety measures. The amendment bill also brings another major change: it replaces the quarterly tax on goods and transport vehicles with a one-time life tax, calculated at 7.5% of the vehicle's cost.
In a related development, the Transport Minister announced that Telangana is set to introduce automatic driving testing stations, modeled on the successful facilities in New Delhi, to modernize the licensing process.
Assembly Approves Two New Private Universities
In a separate legislative action, the assembly passed a bill for the establishment of two private universities. These are Amity University, to be set up in Mamidipalli, Rangareddy district, and St. Mary's Rehabilitation University in Deshmukhi, Yadadri-Bhongir district.
Medical and Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha, speaking on behalf of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, informed the House that the approvals followed compliance with an expert committee's report and recommendations. He highlighted that St. Mary's Rehabilitation University will be the first of its kind in South India, offering specialized courses in the treatment and management of disabilities and intellectual disorders.
However, the move faced criticism from BJP, AIMIM, and CPI legislators, who expressed concerns about the growing privatization of higher education in Telangana.
Other Legislative Business
The Friday session was productive, with the House passing a total of five bills. The other three bills pertained to the administrative merger of 27 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and the expansion of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
