Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Troubled by the pending fitness and permit applications of hundreds of trucks across the state due to online challan for violation of rules, Indore Truck Operators and Transporters Association (ITOTA) demanded the transport department to give them relaxation from the challans and to clear their files.
The transporters also requested to make a system of considering challans at the time of NOC or transfer of ownership instead of stopping fitness and permit applications.
“In Madhya Pradesh, the work of registration and fitness has been shifted to NIC portal recently but it is in force in many other states for the last 2-3 years. Due to the same, the authorities there have served online challans to many of us due to various reasons like no high-security registration plate, alleged violation of traffic norms, or due to any reason by the authorities of other states,” president of ITOTA CL Mukati said.
He added that due to the online challans, even served before the NIC portal started in Madhya Pradesh, the RTOs have been putting the applications for permit and fitness on hold.
“Hundreds of truckers are facing trouble due to the same including over 300 trucks in Indore which are parked idle this is affecting the business of the transporters,” Mukati said.
The ITOTA president said that they don’t have any issue in paying challans but we will have to visit the courts of many states for the same as any challan on the NIC portal not cleared in 15 days are being sent to the local court. For example, a transporter had to visit a local court in Karnataka to settle a challan made a year ago and many times, the RTO officials don’t send the challan to court on time and it remains unavailable on the portal as well.
Even the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has directed the RTOs to not stop the permit and fitness applications due to such online challans on NIC portal.
“We appealed to the transport commissioner to provide us relaxation of the same and issue an order for RTOs across the state,” Mukati said.
The transporters submitted a memorandum to the deputy transport commissioner Rajesh Rathore and to RTO Pradeep Sharma addressing the transport commissioner, on Wednesday.
Decision to be made by higher officials: RTO
“We received the demand of transporters for ignoring the challans on the NIC portal before issuing fitness and permit. The decision would be taken by the senior officials and not by the local office. We have passed their demands to the officials.”
Pradeep Sharma, RTO, Indore
