Over 100 private buses plying without permit in Amritsar: RTI activist

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 12

Suresh Sharma, an RTI activist, has alleged that while the local RTA has issued permits only for two buses, 102 private buses were plying out of Amritsar daily.

In a press conference held here on Tuesday, he stated that the local RTA issued permits only for two buses, that too, on the Amritsar-Chandigarh route.

He said after checking travel websites and other records he came to know that private buses were plying on five highly remunerative routes. A total of 102 private buses are currently functional on different routes, including 43 on Amritsar-Delhi, 27 buses on Amritsar-Jammu, 18 buses on Amritsar-Chandigarh (only two buses have permits), 10 buses on Amritsar-Jaipur and four buses on Amritsar-Ganganagar routes. He added that many of these buses offer the facility of sleepers, which were banned by the government years ago.

As per the 207 clause of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, police and RTA officials can impound a vehicle without valid permit. He added that even drivers of these buses are liable be punished.

He alleged that with the connivance of the RTA’s officials, the state exchequer was incurring finance losses. He stated that in case of an accident, occupants of a vehicle being run without permit, cannot be liable to claim insurance.

RTO Arashdeep Singh Lobana said RTO Arashdeep Singh Lobana said he would have to cross check the record before commenting over the matter, since he joined here just a week ago. He said in addition to this, he was also handling two other departments.