34-38% rise in earnings from special registration numbers at RTOs in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Tardeo RTO in island city earned over Rs 11 crore in revenue from sale of special registration numbers in 2022-23.
Statistics shared by the department on Tuesday showed there was a 34% increase in revenue as compared to 2021-22 . It had earned revenue of Rs 8.3 crore that year by selling 6,820 special numbers. In comparison, 8,058 numbers were up for grabs during 2022-23 for which it earned Rs 11.1 crore.

TOI sought information from RTOs in suburbs and found that the revenue earned for VIP registration numbers in the western suburbs had also shot up by 38% in 2022-23 and total revenue earned was over Rs 13 crore. Some of the other special numbers in demand were single digit 2, 3, 4 ...upto 9, numbers 123 and 234 etc.
At Andheri RTO, which has a jurisdiction between Bandra and Jogeshwari, a total of 6,588 special numbers were sold in 2022-23 for which it earned Rs 7.2 crore. This was against the selling of 4,852 numbers for Rs 5.2 crore a year before. At Borivli RTO, which covers areas between Goregaon and Dahisar, there were 6,796 numbers purchased by car and two wheeler owners in the past one year, generating revenue of Rs 6.2 crore for the RTO. "A year before, in 2021-22, we had 5,336 numbers given out to citizens who paid Rs 4.5 crore collectively," said a senior official from Borivli RTO. The data for eastern suburbs was unavailable. The state had proposed last year to increase the cost of the number '1' for car owners from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, but a decision is yet to be taken, sources said.
When contacted, regional transport officer Bharat Kalaskar said it was not just sales of special numbers, but vehicle registrations at Tardeo RTO had also gone up by 25% in 2022-23, which included an increase of electric vehicles by 75% in a year, especially in south Mumbai. The overall revenue collections for vehicles and taxes also increased by Rs 165 crore (33% rise) in the past one year, he added.
The craze for getting a VIP number initially began in the northern states, said an official. For example, in Punjab, there have been cases of farmers buying VIP numbers for lakhs of rupees in auctions. The craze among Chandigarh businessmen is also well known. In 2012, a businessman in Chandigarh purchased registration number CH-01-AN-0001 for Rs 17 lakh. The number AK-47 is also popular in Punjab and was sold for Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh about a decade ago, sources said.