India, March 20 -- 'Khataras' - that quintessentially Mumbai epithet for old and abandoned vehicles that are the bane of motorists scouring the streets for ever-elusive parking spots. But the khataras in question are not street-side; they have been rusting away in the premises of the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and police stations across the state.

The RTOs and police now have a 100-day deadline to clear away all abandoned vehicles by sending them to the scrapyard or auctioning them. The deadline, among other things, was set on Tuesday at a meeting headed by state chief secretary Sujata Saunik, with officials from the RTOs and police.

At the meeting, officials were told to keep government offices clean, clear khataras and other cl...