Mr Shyam Bhat
Transport Commissioner
Government of Karnataka
Bangaluru
Dear Sir,
Sub: RTOs on Karnataka highways – Use of private agents by RTOs – Legitimacy Issue
Greetings.
I am on a nationwide tour on national highways in heavy commercial vehicles.
I left Delhi in the first week of this month and over the past 2-3 days have crossed into Karnataka state border from Maharasthra.
I must admit that the landscape of Karnataka right from the moment one enters the state is breath-taking. However, I would be hesistant to declare the same sentiments towards your Road Transport Officers (RTOs), who man the highways like vultures.
Let me give two specific incidents that I had witnessed in Davengere and Chitradurga. On 13th May, around 6.30 in the morning, the heavy commercial vehicle on which I was travelling from Bombay to Bangaluru with Mahendra Tractors en route to Salem, we are stopped by two individuals wielding sticks.
On stopping, our driver was forcefully asked to go and meet the government vehicle parked on the other side of the National Highway 4 immediately after crossing Davengere. My driver had obliged by doing so. From my seat inside the HCV cabin, I saw him handing over his documents to someone whom I could not figure out. A little later, I also witnessed my driver handing over some currency notes to the person sitting inside the government vehicle.
When the driver returned to the cabin, I asked him about what happened. Inside that government vehicle was a RTO sitting in police uniform and demanded ‘fee’ to permit his vehicle to proceed further. He obliged to suffer loss of time. That’s when the driver revealed that the RTO demanded Rs.100 and got it promptly.
A few kilometres down the same NH 4, we ran into half a dozen private individuals – again wielding sticks – halting a lot of commercial vehicles. Like last time, a government vehicle was parked on the other side and a bevy of drivers were being “interrogated” by un-uniformed private individuals before being passed onto the RTO who was sitting inside the car.
This time, I decided to move closer to the RTO and check out the reality. The private guards of RTO were rough and tough. There was a quite an interesting interaction between me and RTO. He too got his pound of flesh.
Am attaching my version of the complete episode for your perusal and suitable action.
Sir, my question is very simple:
Does the state government of Karnataka and you as the custodian of law and order in the entire state permit private individuals to work as agents for RTOs?
If so, can you provide me the relevant legislative or administrative support of this “initiative”?
Is there any random checks carried out on RTOs to curb such corrupt practices? If so, can you share the details?
After all, it is the public exchequer that is being looted by unscrupulous RTOs. For arguments sake assuming the HCVs were violating the law of the land, if they were properly challaned and receipted that revenue would have accrued to the government and not gone into the pockets of unscrupulous elements.
I tried to you reach over your mobile phone in vain.
Hence this letter.
I will be in Bangaluru till Wednesday afternoon.
If you can spare sometime I would like to come and meet you in person.
For your information, I am proceeding to Mangalore from here and then proceed to Tamil Nadu.
I am reachable at 09711544181.
Look forward to hearing from you,
Cheers
Ramesh Kumar
Consulting Editor
Saarc Journal of Transport & Logistics Times
New Delhi, India
Copy to:
Hon’ble Minister Dr C P Joshi, Minister for Road Transport & Highways
Govt of India, New Delhi
Mr Satish Gujral, Chairman, National Highway Authority of India, New Delhi
Dr S P Ramesh, Inspector General of Police, Govt of Karnataka
The Prime Minister’s Office, New Delhi
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