Illegal clubbing of permits: RTA officers face music for implementing tribunal's orders
"The tribunal's orders have affected several private transporters, including companies owned by prominent politicians from the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Akali Dal"
A move by the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Patiala, to implement an order of the State Transport Appellate Tribunal on cancelling illegal clubbing of permits has cost him dear.
The officer, MS Cheema, had on February 16 issued instructions to the general managers of Punjab Roadways and PRTC to halt operations of the buses run by Jujhar Construction and Travel Pvt Ltd, in light of the Tribunal's order.
The director of the transport company approached the State Transport Commissioner (STC), saying that the order had resulted in the stopping of operation of the buses being run on the basic permit routes. On February 19, the STC directed the Secretary to allow the operator to run buses on the basic permits.
Incidentally, the Secretary, RTA, was transferred out a day later. However, a senior government functionary said the transfer had nothing to do with the exercise of cancelling the illegally clubbed permits.
In another case, the Secretary, RTA, Ferozepur, who had cancelled his own order to club multiple permits, was also transferred out.
A few days ago, Gidderbaha AAP MLA Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon had complained to the STC alleging harassment of transporters by the Regional Transport Office, Ferozepur. Dhillon, who runs Deep Bus Service, is also among those affected by the government move to cancel the clubbed permits.
JS Grewal, president of the Small Scale Bus Operators’ Association, said, “Irrespective of the governments, the nexus of powerful transporters runs deep and they are not allowing Transport Department officials to implement the orders of the transport tribunal. The tribunal’s orders have affected several private transporters, including companies owned by prominent politicians from the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Akali Dal.”
A former transport official as par the law, the state transport department after cancelling all the illegal multiple extensions should revise the time table.
