Hyderabad: The transport department is holding special drives against violations of rules by private bus operators but the number of cases are rising as the penalties and fines are lower than what the private bus operators can earn by adopting illegal methods. Transport teams from Ranga Reddy and Jogulamba-Gadwal districts have registered nearly 2,000 cases against private bus operators on the Bengaluru National Highway, which are about 500 more compared with last year. Jogulamba-Gadwal district transport officer G. Lakshmi said 12 teams from the district were holding frequent drives to nab erring operators.
“We have registered 1,437 cases and imposed Rs 22.88 lakh in fines this year,” she said. To beat the checks, private operators are taking alternative routes, she said. “We have decided to deploy teams on new routes,” she added. Ranga Reddy district transport officer Muppala Praveen Rao said that 559 cases had been registered against private buses for violating Central Motor Vehicle Act and Rs 2.64 crore collected as penalties.
“Registering vehicles with other states and avoiding taxes in Telangana state are major violations by a few private bus operators. Besides, violation of permit rules by unauthorised alteration of seating arrangement, installing more seats against the rules and allowing extra passengers are the secondary violations,” he said. A motor vehicles inspector said that the penalties were paltry compared to the earnings of of private operators.
“The enforcement focuses more on tax and permit violations apart from verifying whether the buses are being run as contract carriages or plying as stage carriages. As per the Central Motor Vehicle Act, private operators must pay Rs 3,675 per seat per quarter. Those who install more seats will be fined Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 apart from making them pay tax,” he said.
