PMC to auction abandoned vehicles

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to the auction 691 vehicles abandoned on city roads and lifted by civic body officials during a recent drive. The auction will be held in the last week of April, said officials.

As part of its drive to clear public spaces of abandoned vehicles and prevent security risks, the PMC moved 691 abandoned vehicles, which included cars, bikes and auto rickshaws, to decongest roads and make traffic smooth. This is for the first time that PMC has undertaken auctioning of abandoned vehicles.

Anti encroachment department head Madhav Jagtap said, “PMC, with the help of regional ward offices, carried out a two-week drive to remove abandoned vehicles off the streets in the month of January of this year." 

Earlier, the PMC completed a survey of these vehicles parked on city roads and footpaths for several months and later put notices on these vehicles.

After lifting the vehicles, the PMC had submitted a list stating the number of vehicles to the Regional Transport Authority for the list of owners and sent them notices. Some of the vehicle owners approached the PMC and after paying a fine, were able to free their vehicles. However, many owners did not turn up. It was even found that number plates on some of the vehicles were fake.

Earlier, PMC had planned to auction the vehicles in the first week of April, but when the question of fake number plates and the chances of misusing the vehicles emerged, PMC submitted the list to the police and requested them to verify whether any of these vehicles were involved in any court case. 

Civic officials said the PMC will appoint an arbitrator for completing the auction and complete the process.