Kolkata: Permit checks to be carried out by state Transport Authority from Jan 22

KOLKATA: Following the direction of Calcutta High Court to the state Transport Authority (STA) to carry out the checks of buses plying through Esplanade, Central Bus Terminus and area approaching Howrah Bridge for valid permits, the Transport department with assistance of traffic police will start the task from January 22.

Meetings on the same have been held by the department along with the stakeholders on January 11 and another will be held on Tuesday to fine tune the enforcement work.

The department has formed an enforcement team which will check the permit of buses and in case they do not have permits then buses will be seized as per law, an official said.

The Transport department has various checkpoints in the area, officers of the enforcement team will be present there. Apart from this, traffic police have been given freehand to check these buses for permits as well. In March last year, similar checks were conducted and show-cause notices were issued by the STA. “However, last time traffic police were not part of the team. This time, with their help, we will be able to enforce it better,” source said.

A writ petition was filed claiming that several buses in the mentioned area are plying without permit and their operation is wholly illegal. Petitioner furnished the registration number of certain vehicles and the area in which they have been plying. The Division Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya had directed the team to detain buses without valid permits.

“So far as imposition of fine is concerned, it is only a deterrent or a punishment for a singular violation but however, it appears that the violators have not stopped the violation and the violation still continues and mere imposition of fine will not prevent the illegal operation of those vehicles in the routes in which they are not authorised to ply,” the Division Bench observed.

The Bench had further directed that the team should verify whether the said persons had paid a fine earlier and if they did but are still violating, then their permit should be suspended.

Thereafter, show-cause notice should be issued proposing cancellation of the permits issued to them. “Unless strict action is taken by the Transport department, this illegality cannot be prevented,” it was observed.