Still facing hassles; extortion, corruption rampant despite MHA order, say truckers

Notwithstanding guidelines in place for seamless movement of trucks carrying essentials and goods, truckers on Monday claimed they are still facing high-handedness and harassment especially at state borders and checkposts.

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Truckers under the aegis of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) have reiterated their demand for protection, saying the situation on the ground remained unchanged as they are still dealing with extortion, corruption, misbehaviour and even FIRs.

There are so many reports coming from Assam, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, among others about truck drivers being misbehaved and tortured, according to the truckers' body, which warned of supply disruptions if their "corona warriors" are subject to such inhuman treatment.

On Sunday, the AIMTC had said that fruits and vegetables worth Rs 9 crore in 300 trucks were stuck at Rajasthan border and trucks were allowed entry into Delhi after a high-voltage drama.

Despite the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) orders to ensure hassle-free movement of essentials and goods, the situation is worsening on the ground and if the government fails to intervene, trucks will be off roads, said the AIMTC, which represents about 95 lakh truckers and entities.

"The greed for quick money has blinded the corrupt and rendered them insensitive to the plight of poor truckers who in line of their duty to the people of the country are maintaining the essential supply chain. In Madhya Pradesh, border checkposts are activated and every truck, especially those coming from outside the state, are being extorted money in term of entry fees to the tune of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000," AIMTC President Kultaran Singh Atwal told PTI.

The border checkposts were supposed to be abolished after the roll-out of the GST, but the Regional Transport Office (RTO) lobby in the state got it re-instated citing checking of overloaded vehicles and now passengers in trucks, Atwal said.

"However, the real story behind this is to extract quick bucks from the truckers. This is sheer exploitation by RTOs and their appointed agents, who are no less than hooligans," Atwal alleged.

A similar situation persists on KMP (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal) peripheral, Haryana, where traffic police continue to extort money from the truckers and even use force against them, he added.

About 300 vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables bound for Delhi were stopped at Behrod (Rajasthan) on Saturday for 4-5 hours and after persuasion with authorities they were allowed to move on but again they were stopped at Shahjahanpur Border (Rajasthan), the AIMTC had said and added that the police personnel drove them back to Rajasthan and only after a day they were allowed to move to Azadpur Mandi of Delhi.

Barely 30 per cent of the total trucks are on the roads, and if the government fails to intervene and resolve transporters' issues, days will be not far off when there will be shortage of drivers and essential supplies could be disrupted, AIMTC Secretary General Naveen Gupta told PTI.

He said a large number of drivers were approaching the AIMTC for support from Madhya Pradesh and other states, saying illegal extortions ranging from Rs 800 to 3,000 for "entry" into the state have become common there.

In a video, drivers -- with their truck numbers UP 21 BN 8896 and UP 21BN 9457 -- are heard saying to AIMTC officials from the Madhya Pradesh border that they are being charged Rs 800-1,000 fee for crossing the border.

"It has been reported that the police forcibly made the truckers carry migrant labourers in Indore and Dewas.... the RTOs through the transport department got all checkpost activated and they are allowing such vehicles carrying passengers by extorting money and those not able to pay are detained and FIR lodged against them," AIMTC President Atwal said.

In another recorded audio, a driver Suraj Singh vehicle HR 57A0281 is heard saying that he was carrying material to Nagpur from Bhatinda Refinery with Deputy Commissioner's permission, but his licence was taken and a challan was slapped on him.

The AIMTC said cases have also been reported from Mizoram where four trucks carrying goods for BSNL were stopped at Baring Border and on Eastern & Western Peripheral highway and drivers were beaten and documents were taken.

"The past few days have thrown up stark reality with cases of corruption, harassment and extortion by law enforcers and their agents in various parts of the country," AIMTC officials said adding "the police, control room numbers from MHA do not help on the ground".

Stating that more than 20 crore people are directly and indirectly dependent on this sector, the AIMTC has demanded a rescue and relief package.

"There is no revenue generation, no financial inflows as payments from parties are restrained and existing finance with the small operators as well as that of big operators is depleting fast. The small operators (more than 85 per cent of the lot) do not have enough resources to sustain their families and won’t be able to pay for the statutory and regulatory compliances even few months after the normalcy is restored," it said.

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry earlier this month had said that it is serious to ensure faster resolution of complaints by drivers and transporters engaged in goods supply during the lockdown and has decided to depute highways ministry officials in the control rooms set up under the Home Ministry.