Mumbai mayor does not want to remove red beacon from Toyota Innova Crysta

Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar has been given a new Toyota Innova Crysta from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The MPV has a red beacon attached to it despite the union government issuing a notification against the installation of such beacons except on emergency and law enforcement vehicles.

The union transport ministry has also amended the central motor vehicles act of 1989 in line with the government’s order. However, the mayor of Mumbai has refused to remove the beacon from this vehicle, and this is what he has said,

I have not received any such letter or notice. I don’t know whether such a notification has been issued by the union government. Neither is this car mine, nor have I installed the beacon. This car belongs to the BMC and they have installed it. Since I heard about the central government’s resolution about the red beacons, I have stopped using it. You see the car, its beacon is covered with a black cloth.

The Mumbai RTO has sent the executive engineer of the BMC a notice, asking for the read beacon atop the Mayor’s car to be removed. While the beacon is now covered with a black cloth, it is yet to be removed from the car. This is not the first time that the Mumbai mayor’s new Innova Crysta has attracted controversy.

Opposition parties in Maharashtra have questioned the BMC’s decision to buy a 20 lakh rupee car for the mayor even as the cost limit for such a car has been capped at Rs. 15 lakhs. The Innova Crysta, which was registered at the Tardeo RTO on the 4th of October, 2017, is the 2.4 liter, diesel ZX 7 seat variant. It is powered by a 2.4 liter turbo diesel engine that makes 148 Bhp and 342 Nm. A 5 speed manual gearbox is standard and the MPV is rear wheel driven.

Via IndiaToday & Kaumudi