MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan or AB for short, Lal Rumaal, Kachcha Papad... Well, these are
some of the monthly code words used by unscrupulous agents to help truckers bypass RTO
checks for overloaded trucks and tempos in the state.
Sources in the transport industry have revealed a major nexus between agents and RTO
officials whose unusual modus operandi has encouraged rampant overloading in the past few
months. Besides being illegal, overloading is a major hazard as it can cause accidents on busy
highways as well as damage road surface.
A big-time Mumbai transporter who did not wish to be named told TOI, "The RTO has a flying
squad which checks trucks and tempos anywhere on the highway for overloading. The agents,
who are hand-in-glove with them, usually operate from some of the dhabas situated en route."
According to the modus operandi, a truck driver is instructed by his owner (or the party
sending a consignment) to contact an agent at a particular dhaba. The driver is supposed to
stop over at the dhaba for refreshments. He then interacts with the agent over a cup of tea or a
glass of lassi and collects the chit containing the code words.
Sources said that sometimes, these codes are the first few lines of a song from a recently
released Hindi film. Once the driver sings the song, he can bypass every check, they said.
Another transporter from Dana Bunder said, "The RTO has to maintain its targets of
recovering fines. So, it nabs innocent truck and tempo drivers who are not part of the cartel.
They are harassed by the officials who scrutinise every detail of the consignment and find some
loophole to fine the truck driver."
When contacted, Maharashtra Truck Owners Association general secretary Parshuram Katke
confirmed that there was corruption in the RTO, which encouraged rampant overloading of
vehicles across the state. "The fine has increased from Rs 200 a few years ago to Rs 2,500 per
tonne recently. But, this has not deterred unscrupulous truckers," he said, and added that there
have been accidents due to overloading, which posed dangers to other motorists driving on the
highway.
J K Jain, general secretary of the Bombay Goods Transport Association, said that the RTO
often harassed those carrying machinery for government projects. "Since the machinery is
fixed to the vehicle, the officials often insist that they would calculate the collective weight of
both vehicle and equipment. And, if this weight is not declared in the documents, it is termed
as overloading," he said. Another transporter alleged that the RTO manipulated the fine
collection to meet its annual targets.
A senior RTO official denied the charges by saying that the transport department was serious
about collecting fines from overloading vehicles. "Our fine collection for overloading offence
Courtesy: Times of India
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