The Uttarakhand High Court (HC) has asked the transport department to maintain status quo on the matter of stage carriage permit to Vikrams, Tata Magic and Maximo vehicles.
The Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Dinesh Chandra Pathoi was ordered by HC to appear before it personally on Thursday while hearing the petition of a city bus owner Prashant Dobhal. The court asked him to clarify the stand of department on the issue of granting stage carriage permit to Vikrams, Tata magic and Maximo vehicles and restrained the department from taking any decision on the issue till it passes final orders in the case.
Pathoi told The Pioneer that he clarified the stand of department in HC and disposed off that there was no plan to give the status of stage carriage to Vikrams but the department is planning to fix some routes for these vehicles.
The issue of granting stage carriage permit to vehicles like Vikrams, Tata magic and Maximo is a contentious issue with the city bus operators opposing the move tooth and nail. They argue that since these vehicles are granted the contract carriage permits they should not be allowed to ply on city routes and pick individual commuters.