Punjab cabinet approves new transport policy

The Punjab cabinet today approved a new policy aimed at restructuring the transport services in the state by streamlining the process of issuing licences and permits.
"Under new transport policy the system of District Transport Officers (DTOs) has been abolished and the department has been restructered to streamline the issuance of permits and licences to commercial and private transport vehicles," an offical spokesperson said here.
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, he said.

The cabinet has also decided that the state government will gradually increase the state transport undertakings' share in the luxury bus service to eventually make it state controlled, he added.
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, ending the private control over these high-revenue bus routes, the spokesperson said after a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here.
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, said the spokesperson.

The new scheme, according to the spokesperson, is aimed at addressing the issues from which the system had been suffering, such as favouritism in allotment of permits, extensions given beyond the legal provisions on pick and choose basis etc.

It would also promote the use of technology to check unauthorized plying of buses, which results in huge evasion of Motor Vehicle Tax.
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, would be implemented after receiving feedback from the public.
The state government would 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.