The City Bus Association of Dehradun has alleged that contrary to the Transport department’s affidavit in Uttarakhand High Court (HC) in which it had stated that no stage carriage permit was given to three wheelers, tempo, Vikrams and Tata Magics/ Maximos, the department has granted such permits to 51 such vehicles.
The president of city bus association Vijay Vardhan Dandariyal informed that the Transport department in an affidavit filed in HC on November 19 last year had categorically stated it had not given stage carriage permit to three wheelers, tempo, Vikrams and Tata Magics.
The HC disposing off the petition of transporter Prashant Dobhal ordered that the department should adhere to the definition of stage carriage as provided in the provisions of Uttarakhand Motor Vehicles rule 2011 while granting permits.
Dandariyal said a Right to Information (RTI) inquiry revealed that the department has given stage carriage permits to many (51) seven-eight seated Tata Magic vehicles in violation of Motor Vehicle Rules.
He said the action of the department apart from being a criminal offence for misleading the court also amounts to contempt of court.
The association submitted a letter to Regional Transport Officer (RTO) and demanded that the department should immediately cancel the stage carriage permits granted to such vehicles failing which the department would file a criminal case against the department.
To buttress its claim the city bus association has attached documentary evidence of stage carriage permit granted by the department to one of a Tata Magic vehicle.
It is pertinent to mention here that the issue of granting stage carriage permit to vehicles like Vikrams, Tata magic and Maximo is a contentious issue with the city bus operators object to the demand of such vehicle to grant stage carriage permits to them. These vehicles are per the law can be provided only contract carriage permit which restricts them to pick individual customers on selected routes of the city.