Repairers come up with new ways to ‘fix’ e-meters

The state government may have made it mandatory for autos to be fitted with electronic meters in the hope that it would reduce the number of autos running on rigged meters, but meter repairers are coming up with new techniques to rig e-meters and stay in business.

The state government may have made it mandatory for autos to be fitted with electronic meters in the hope that it would reduce the number of autos running on rigged meters, but meter repairers are coming up with new techniques to rig e-meters and stay in business.

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Some meter repairers have figured out a method by which they will be able to make e-meters run up to 30% faster than normal. They plan to charge between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 to ‘fix’ the meters.

The method involves replacing the chip sets (a set of chips designed to work together) – also called integrated circuits – that are fitted inside all e-meters.

A meter repairer told Hindustan Times that all one has to do is fit the chip set meant for two-stroke autos in four-stoke autos (see graphic). Once replaced, the e-meters of four-stoke autos will run up to 30% faster, which means that if it shows a fare of Rs130, the actual fare is Rs100.

Over the past three weeks, the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) have discovered three instances of rigged e-meters – two in the eastern and one in the western suburbs. The meter found in the western suburbs had been ‘fixed’ using this method, an RTO official said, on condition of anonymity. “The Jogeshwari police are investigating it.”

The discovery has prompted the state transport department to take tougher action against offenders – it has ordered the RTOs to cancel the licences of permit holders (auto owners) and file first information reports (FIRs) against drivers and repairers caught with tampered e-meters.

The issue was discussed at a recent meeting between state transport department officials and the 12 approved e-meter manufacturers in the state, the official said, adding that the transport commissioner’s office has warned the manufacturers that their licence would be cancelled if their e-meters are found rigged as they had assured the government that the meters would stop working if anybody tampers with them.

Another way to rig e-meters is by fitting a gadget from Hyderabad near the gear box which generates extra pulse and transmits it to the e-meter making it run fast.

“A meter repairer caught while rigging meters had used this technique,” an RTO official said.