In a move that will significantly boost Indian transporters’ efficiency, the Centre is set to introduce a new system for issuing a National Permit to truck fleet operators. If all goes to plan, transporters would soon be able to get a national permit for their fleet by paying Rs 15,000 per truck per annum rather than getting separate permits from each state. This will allow the vehicle to move seamlessly across the country and reduce the transit time at inter-state borders.
In the existing system, the state where a truck is registered can issue the national permit at a fee of Rs 3,000-5,000 a carrier per year, but that allows the vehicle to move only in three contiguous states besides the home state. As per a government study, a truck loses 119 hours per annum on check-posts?5% of its average annual traveling time of 2,370 hours a year. Total economic cost of such delays is between Rs 3,200 crore and Rs 4,300 crore a year.
The new format has been recommended by a committee under the chairmanship of Road Transport and Highways secretary Brahm Dutt, in accordance with a January 2009 agreement between the Centre and All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC). The proposal envisages issuing the license for five years and the fees will be collected by an external agency like Transport Development Council (TDC).
The amount so collected will be distributed among the states as per an agreed formula?which is a bone of contention between the states and the Centre. The issue was discussed in a meeting of the principal secretaries (transport) of states and union territories in September this year.
Now, the issue will soon be taken up at a meeting of TDC, under the chairmanship of Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath and comprising transport ministers of states and union territories. As per the government estimates, more than Rs 6,654 crore can be collected by issuing national permits for the trucks. ?Since it involves the endorsement by the Transport Development Council (TDC)/state governments, no definite time frame for implementation of the proposal could be envisaged at this stage,? Nath replied to a question in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
?The new system was to be introduced by January 1, 2010, but considering that the TDC is still to discuss the matter of the distribution formula, we are skeptical of the government meeting the deadline set under the January agreement with us,? a senior official of AIMTC told FE. The agreement was signed after AIMTC, with 2.7 million trucks in its fold, staged an eight-day strike in January this year.