Online system to be introduced in Maharashtra to aid auto drivers during lockdown 

The Maharashtra transport department will start from May 22 an online system for providing a relief of Rs 1,500 each to auto-rickshaw drivers as part of curbs in place to check the spread of COVID-19. With the roll out of the online facility, this one-time relief will be immediately credited to the bank accounts of the auto-rickshaw drivers whose Aadhaar card numbers are linked to their accounts, the transport department said in a release on Wednesday.

The Maharashtra government last month announced a package of Rs 107 crore for the state's 7. 15 lakh auto-rickshaw drivers under which each of them would get Rs 1,500 as relief for the restrictions enforced to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases. The government had also said the money, which would be to tide over loss of income during this period, will be transferred online to the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts through a system which is being developed for the purpose.

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The system will have various details of the drivers, including their license and vehicle numbers, it had said. On Wednesday, the transport department said the ICICI bank has developed the system for disbursement of the relief amount. "Fund transfer will happen immediately on verification of beneficiaries online," transport commissioner Avinash Dhakane said.

Representatives of auto-rickshaw driver unions will be given a presentation about this on Friday, the release said. The Maharashtra government had imposed the lockdown-like restrictions in the state on April 5 and recently extended them till June 1 to break the chain of COVID-19. On Wednesday, the state reported 34,031 new COVID-19 cases, which took the infection tally to 54,67,537, while 594 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 84,371, as per official figures.