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Lalit Mohan
Contract carriage buses plying illegally from Dharamsala and other tourist stations to other parts of the state are eating into the revenue of the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and the state government.
Around 200 buses are plying illegally from various hill stations of the state and their number increases during the peak tourist season. Most of these buses are operating with impunity from the same place everyday right under the nose of the transport authorities.
Can’t pick up passengers
These buses have the permit of contract carriage, which means that they can operate only if booked by a group of people for tourism. Contract carriage means that people book buses for going from one station to another. Such buses cannot pick up passengers en route.
However, these buses are operating on a daily basis like stage carriage buses being run by the HRTC that can pick up passengers from various places. The stage carriage buses are liable to pay the state road tax that is charged from passengers per ticket. The contract carriage buses do not pay the state road tax. They have to pay tax per day only when they operate.
The buses are operating blatantly in Dharamsala city and picking up passengers on a daily basis. Likewise, private buses are operating illegally from other tourist stations such as Manali and Bir in Kangra district.
The fact that these buses are operating as stage carriages can be ascertained from popular online applications such as Red Bus that offer their booking. These buses can be booked online for individuals, thus the operations are illegal. Shopkeepers at most of the hill stations have openly displayed advertisements for bus booking. These buses also pick up passengers en route and seat booking can be done through agents at various places. The police and transport authorities have failed to act against these illegal bus operators.
HRTC suffers losses
The HRTC buses have to operate from designated stands while illegal buses operate from everywhere. The fares of HRTC buses are fixed and do not vary as per the demand. Since private contract carriage buses do not have to pay road tax to the state government, they operate as per the convenience of customers.
The fares of private Volvo buses vary according to the demand. During the peak season, their fares are higher. HRTC buses charge Rs 1,462 per person for travel from Dharamsala to Delhi. Their fares remain the same irrespective of the season (peak or lean). However, the fares of private Volvo buses plying on the Dharamsala to Delhi route range between Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,500, according to the demand. Private buses do not issue tickets to passengers and so there is no record of the fares they charge.
Pankaj Chada, Regional Manager, HRTC, Dharamsala, says that they submit a daily report to the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) regarding the number of contract carriage buses plying illegally in the district and it is for him to act against unauthorised operators.
HRTC officials say that illegally operating buses are causing crores of rupees of revenue loss to the government as well as the corporation, as they do not pay the road tax mandatory for stage carriage buses.
The HRTC is thinking of curtailing its routes due to losses being caused by illegal carriage buses. However, it will be like yielding to illegal operations of contract carriage buses.
Registered in Haryana
Illegal buses are operating from various tourist places of Himachal and Majnu ka Tila in Delhi. Recently, the Delhi Government banned the entry of such buses. At that time, these were operating from Haryana. Passengers were brought in small vehicles from Delhi to the Haryana border and then transported in buses. Most of these contract carriage buses operate during night. They move through rural areas to avoid tax payment on the border of the state.
Connivance of officials
Anyone can download the vahan.parivahan.gov.in app of the Central Government to check whether any contract carriage bus has paid tax or not. Anybody can download the app on his mobile phone, put the registration number of the bus and check whether it has paid the state taxes or not. Ironically, while Transport Department officials feign ignorance, the app data checked by The Tribune show that most of the contract carriage buses plying on a daily basis across the state are not paying tax. If a bus evades the tax payment of Rs 5,200 per day, about 200 such buses plying in the state cause a revenue loss of around Rs 10 lakh per day to the exchequer. Such a huge amount of tax evasion is not possible without the connivance of officials concerned and people in power.
The government has launched campaigns to check the operation of such illegal buses but without much success. Former Transport Minister GS Bali had himself carried out campaigns against illegally operating buses. However, he also could not do much. At that time, the Transport Department had written to the companies operating online applications such as Red Bus that legal action could be taken against them if they continue to book seats in these illegal contract carriage buses. However, the Transport Department did not take any action and the illegal bus operations continued.
The RTO says that he has asked the Transport Department to install CCTV cameras at vital places so that he can check the illegal plying of contract carriages.
Goods transported illegally
Private contract carriage buses are also being used to transport goods. Many traders use the services of these buses as these have ample space in their luggage boxes to transport goods. Most of the goods are transported without bills and hence tax evasion.
The state police have confiscated contraband drugs from private contract carriage buses on the Manali route. They keep a check on goods being transported in these buses. Officials say that it is not possible for them to check all buses.
Last year, a Punjab-based transport company had tried to buy all contract carriage companies of Himachal. It made advance payments to Himachal-based transport companies but the deal did not mature following the intervention of the Himachal Government.
Tax evasion rampant, multiple levies to blame
The contract carriage buses have to pay a daily tax of Rs 5,200 for operating in Himachal. However, most of them are not paying the tax. A senior Transport Department official says that in case contract carriage buses pay all taxes, their operations become unviable. Besides Himachal, the Punjab Government levies a tax of Rs 5,000 per day and the Haryana Government Rs 2,200 per day on these buses. All the taxes add up to about Rs 3.6 lakh per month for these buses to operate on a daily basis. This makes their operations unviable. Most of these buses pay taxes for just four or five days a month and thus cause huge losses to the governments of Himachal and adjoining states.
Vishal Sharma, RTO, Dharamsala, says that he has asked HRTC officials to submit a list of contract carriage buses plying illegally in the district. “I have written to the authorities concerned to cancel the registration of these buses. As these buses operate as stage carriages though they are registered as contract carriages, their operations are illegal and their registration is liable to be cancelled,” he adds. About tax evasion, Sharma says, “Whenever we find a bus operating without paying tax, a five-time penalty is imposed on it”.
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