Punjab unveils transport policy, abolishes DTO posts

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, July 5

The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday okayed the much-awaited new transport policy, while abolishing the system of DTOs and restructuring the transport department, in order to streamline the issuance of permits and licences across commercial and private transport vehicles.

The Cabinet decided that the state government will gradually increase the state transport undertakings’ share in the luxury bus service to eventually make it state controlled.

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The share of State Transport Authority, Punjab Roadways and PRTC in the inter-state, point-to-point super integral coach service on contract carriage basis will be increased gradually, thus eventually ending the private mafia control over these high-revenue bus routes, a spokesperson said after a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

It was also decided to set up a special task force of the vigilance department and the state police to crack down on all illegally plying buses, over a period of two months, to weed out all such buses in a phased manner, said the spokesperson.

The Draft Transport Scheme-2017, formulated in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, will be implemented after eliciting feedback from the public for 30 days and being fine-tuned according to inputs received from the general public.

The state government will seek a time period of 3 months from the courts to implement the scheme in a phased manner in order to ensure that the members of the public are not inconvenienced as a result of the large number of buses expected to be taken off the roads following its execution.

Once the scheme is implemented, permits of as many as 5,432 buses indulging in extension/diversion of routes and another 6,700 mini buses, besides 78 integral luxury coaches, will be cancelled and allotted afresh.

The new policy also provides for stipulation of motor vehicle tax as proportionate to the reference fares notified by the state government, and where there exists a reciprocal arrangement with other states/UTs, rate of tax shall be equal to the rate charged by the other State/UT. For buses running on rural roads the tax shall be lump sum Rs 30,000 per annum, which shall increase 5% every year in compounded manner.

Elaborating on the restructuring of the Transport Department, the spokesperson revealed that besides doing away with the system of DTOs, it will provide for registration of personal vehicles by SDMs, with driving licences to be issued on 32 Automated Driving Test Tracks itself by Assistant Transport Officers.

RTA to handle commercial vehicles' work 

The work related to commercial vehicles will be handled by 11 Regional Transport Authority (RTA) offices, which will do registration, licensing, permit issuance, and tax collection, besides registering personal vehicles. Six additional posts of Secretary RTAs will be created to fill in the gap created by the abolition of the 22 DTO posts.

As per new structure of the department, 10 Assistant RTOs will be posted in the office of Secretary, RTA and one each on the 32 Automated Driving Test Tracks.

The ARTOs will exercise the powers of Registering and/or Licensing depending upon their office of posting. They will be responsible for enforcement duties in the same manner as the Secretary, RTAs for their areas of jurisdictions.

The secretaries will be tasked with issuance of registration certificates, driving licenses for transport vehicles, conductor licences, private service vehicle permits and contract carriage permits, supervision and checking of Pollution Check Centres, enforcement duties with respect to tax collections, traffic/permit/route violations, Motor Vehicles Tax collection from the Stage Carriage Buses belonging to both the STUs and the Private Operators.

Apart from these, secretary, RTA, would also be the Chairman of the Board of Inspection for fitness certificates to the transport vehicles, member of district condemnation board for vehicles, member secretary/convener of the district road safety committee, member secretary of committee formed under the safe school vahan scheme.

Besides, he would also be entrusted with the task of grant and renewal of national permits with respect to Goods Carriage under Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, grant and renewal of Goods Carriage Permits, grant and renewal of Stage Carriage Permits for Buses, enforcement work with respect of traffic checking on road in their region to implement the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Rules framed there under and framing and approving time-tables to be followed by all stage carriage buses for the bus depots under their jurisdiction.