Punjab Government cancels 39 illegal private bus permits

Tribune News Service

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, October 21

The Punjab Transport Department has cancelled 39 illegally clubbed bus permits of private bus operators, including 25 of companies earlier owned by the Badal family.

Multiple extensions

• Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said as per norms, bus permits could be extended only once
• However, private operators had extended these multiple times in a wrongful manner

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said as per the guidelines of the department, bus permits could only be extended once, but private bus operators had extended these multiple times in a wrong manner.

The permits to and from different cities of the state which have been cancelled include 13 of Dabwali Transport Company Private Ltd, Bathinda; 12 of Orbit Aviation Private Ltd, Bathinda; seven of Jujhar Passenger Bus Service Private Ltd, Ludhiana; two of New Deep Motors, Channu, Gidderbaha; and one each of New Deep Bus Service, Gidderbaha; Victory Transport Company, Moga; Harvindra Highways Bus Service, Moga; Ex-Servicemen Coop Transport Company Ltd, Moga; and Bathinda Bus Company, Bathinda. These private operators have been asked to immediately submit these permits to the offices concerned.

Besides, the secretaries of the regional transport authorities have been asked not to consider the cancelled clubbed permits in any time table being prepared in their offices. These invalid permits should be removed from the time tables in which such permits are included. The general managers of the PRTC Faridkot, Bathinda, Barnala and Budhlada units have also been directed to stop the buses operating on cancelled permits immediately. The minister said in line with decisions made in civil writ petition number 15786 of 1999 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, club permit holders whose route extensions were extended more than once, were ordered to be cancelled. These orders had been executed by cancelling the permits after hearing the permit holders’ representations, the minister said.

Dabwali Transport Company Private Ltd, Bathinda, and Orbit Aviation Private Ltd, Bathinda, were till recently co-owned by the Badal family.

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