Even as road accidents are on the increase in the State and casualties are on the upswing, two separate orders by the Transport Department have raised many questions on the functioning of the department and coordination among the top officials. While one order was issued by the Transport Commissioner, another has been issued by the Commerce and Transport Secretary.
In his order on September 3, the Transport Commissioner allotted specific slots (shifts) for conducting enforcement checking on National Highway-16 to the concerned RTOS. Accordingly, the checking was carried out. But the Transport and Commerce Department in a letter(7906 /T., dated Bhubaneswar the 13.09.2021) on September 16 to the Transport Commissioner said, It has come to the notice that, specific slots (shift of checking) for conducting enforcement checking on National Highway-16 has been allotted to the concerned RTOS. Even some slots have been allotted to RTOs for checking during night hours.
Such allotment of slots defeats the very purpose of enforcement as the surprise element is lost. It is a fact that, more than 40 percent of accidents and fatalities occur on NHs and especially NH-16 is a vulnerable stretch of road having a huge number of Black Spots with high vehicular flow.
The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety have expressed their concern for growth in fatalities in the State over the years and specifically instructed to intensify enforcement on the NHS. “It is not understood why time slots (shift for checking) have been allotted to RTOs for conducting enforcement on NH-16. I am directed to request you to intimate the reason for allotment of timeslot for enforcement and take immediate steps to withdraw the order.”
“The issuing of two orders shows that there is no coordination among the top transport officials. Already the police are carrying out patrolling on the NHs as per the State Government orders and more than Rs 10 crore has been spent on it. If multiple agencies are involved and checking is carried out at a number of places it would affect smooth communications on the NHs and ultimately people would be affected,” said, All India Anti-Corruption Organisation State convenor Subrat Nanda.
Besides, the rules are changing frequently with the change of guard in the department. There is no consistency. This is leading to chaos. But the Transport Secretary has taken the right decision, added Nanda.