Govt ‘tames’ erring bus operators

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 19

For pinning holes in the state government exchequer, transporters of Doaba region are likely to be exposed soon for illegally plying tourist buses by fraudulently obtaining school permits on them. The practice has literally been extending huge losses to the government in terms of hefty taxes.

Notably, a transporter has to pay ten times more tax on tourist permit than on school permit but the fraud is reportedly being committed in connivance with the transport officials.

Taking a note of the fallacious practice, the Vigilance Department has already initiated inquiries into the scam and in the days to come, noose may be tightened around the blacksheeps in transport business as well in the state transport department.

Matter has come to the fore after a local transporter Deepak Verma filed a complaint with the Chief Director-cum-DGP Vigilance Bureau Suresh Arora who asked the Jalandhar Vigilance Bureau to conduct an investigation.

Sources confirmed that in the preliminary investigation conducted by vigilance officials of Jalandhar, complaint was found to be genuine and on the basis of which they have also reportedly identified over dozen such buses which have got school permit but are being run on tourist purposes.

“We are collecting more evidence on the issue and preliminary inquiry has been sent to Chandighar Vigilance head office for approval. Whosoever will be found guilty, including transporter, transport department officials and schools, nobody will be spared,” said a senior official of the Vigilance Bureau.

DTOs of Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur told to submit record of school and tourists buses

Suspecting a huge scam into the allegations, the Vigilance Bureau has also written to the District Transport Officers of Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur seeking record of buses (schools and tourists). Sources said information was sought to inquire the status of buses registered with the transport department on school and tourist permits.

Schools may also face the wrath

Transporter Deepak in his complaint to the Vigilance Director stated that two buses, being used for tourist purposes, were given school permit at the name of a private school in Phagwara which was lying closed for the last over two years. It has also come to the light that some small schools which don’t even have strength of students to ferry in buses, have also approved school permits for private transporters.

Officialspeak

Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Gurmeet Singh, when asked about the ongoing fraud, said he had asked the ADTO, Mobile Wing, to probe the complaint and take action against the transporter he ply any school permit bus on tourist permit.

The Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Bureau, Jalandhar, Gurmeet Singh, said they had received a complaint and probe was underway.

Transporter Deepak’s complaint to RTA says

If a school bus is to be registered with the transport office, the bus has to be in yellow colour with school name inscribed on it and the officials will check these details before issuing school permit. But here, tourist buses, which are only eligible to be given tourist permit and are not fulfilling any requirement for school permit, are being issued school permit by Transport Department. If the Vigilance Department will impartially inquire into the matter, scam worth lakhs of rupees will come to the light

Modus operandi

To register a school bus with the Transport Department, one has to pay around Rs 30,000 per year to the state government and to register a tourist bus, a transporter has to deposit a hefty tax of around Rs 2.75 lakh in the state exchequer. Throwing all norms to the winds, transporters in connivance with the transport officials are fraudulently registering tourist buses on school permits.