New transport permit system kept in abeyance

Though the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MRTH)planned to implement the new truck permit system from May 1, it will now be delayed since many states have sought the time, a senior official in the Ministry said. However, the official did not specify  when it will come into force. It is learnt that the introduction of the new system will take at least two to three months. 

The meeting convened by MRTH Secretary Bhrama Datt on Friday, attended by state road transport secretaries and commissioners failed to reach consensus on this issue.

However, the meeting decided to constitute a sub-committee headed by the Punjab Government Transport Secretary to address the problems raised by the states.

As the states want time to amend the State Motor Vehicle Act, the implementation of the system may be kept in abeyance until then, said the official. 

In what could have been a major relief for truck operators, the ministry had plans to introduce a new national permit system covering pan-India with an annual fee of Rs 15,000 per truck from May 1. 

Truck operators currently pay Rs 20,000 to the state transport department to gain access to three neighbouring states besides their home territory.  Each time they need to operate in a new state, they have to pay a further Rs 5,000.

Currently, if a truck runs from Srinagar to Tamil Nadu, the owner has to pay over Rs 60,000 just for inter-state permit, the reason why operators have been demanding scrapping of the existing system.  

As per the proposed system, once a truck owner applies for national permit at a Regional Transport Office , he will have to pay Rs 15,000 as annual fee at SBI and will get a receipt. Subsequently, the bank will also send another receipt to the RTO office concerned via the internet.

After verification, the applicant will receive an SMS stating the position of his application and when the permit will be issued.  “As RTOs in Karnataka are already computerised, the State is ready to implement the new scheme provided with the Centre issued a detailed guidelines about collecting the fees”, Bhaskar Rao, Karnataka Commissioner Transport, told Deccan Herald.

Rao, who attended the  transport secretaries meeting, said with the confusion over fee collection, the State requested the Centre to clear the doubts before going ahead with the implementation of the new scheme.

President of All India Motor Transport Congress  G R Shanmugappa said over two lakh trucks were stranded across the country hoping to benefit from the new system.