Faux pas delays transport policy notification by month

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 4

The final notification of the new state transport policy has been delayed by at least a month, thanks to a faux pas by the state Transport Department in not declaring the “monopoly” routes of the state transport undertakings.

As per the 1990 transport policy, the Transport Department while notifying the draft policy left out the annexure of the “monopoly” routes.

The anomaly came to light when the state transport undertakings — PRTC and Punjab Roadways — filed objections to the annexure of the “monopoly” routes being missing from the draft policy.

The two-day public hearing on August 23 and 24, after the one-month public notice on the policy, had attracted objections from the stakeholders on the “hurried” manner in which public objections to the new transport policy were heard by Transport Department officials.

To cover up for the faux pas, the annexure of the “monopoly” routes would be notified again resulting in further delay in notifying the policy.

Sources in the government said since the entire case was being routed through the office of the Advocate General, the file had again been sent to the AG for corrigendum.