Shillong: As many as 71 vehicles (wingers) which were procured by the State Transport department in 2013 for public use under the Special Rural Supplementary Transport System (SRSTS) for better connectivity to and from rural areas are gathering dust and rust in the stockyard of a local motor dealer in the city.
The Government had procured the vehicle with the noble intention of providing better public transport facilities for the rural populace but they have been lying idle in the stockyard for over a year now with the authorities concerned failing to take possession of these vehicles.
Incidentally, Commissioner of Transport, Jessica Pakyntein, who was reminded about the vehicles on Wednesday, stated that the Transport department could not take possession of the vehicles due to the ‘recently-concluded MP elections and the imposition of the model code of conduct’.
“Now we have resumed the process again and we hope to commission the vehicles shortly,” Pakyntein said, even though she failed to give a time-frame for implementation of the scheme.
Meanwhile, sources informed that the scheme – Special Rural Supplementary Transport System – under which the vehicles were procured envisages that the vehicles be pressed into service in rural areas where the conventional mode of commercial transport such as taxis and auto-rickshaws do not ply causing a large number of the rural populace to trek long distances to reach their destinations.
Sources further informed that the 71 wingers were procured at an amount of Rs.4.99 crore in March 2013.
With the Transport department forgetting about these vehicles, the dealer is now complaining of space constraints and wants these vehicles to be shifted elsewhere.
“We cannot do anything since these vehicles have been paid for. We have to keep them here till time the department decides to take possession of the vehicles. Till then we have to bear with the space constraint,” said an employee of the dealer, adding, “We are also incurring extra expenditure on payment of salary to a chowkidar to guard these vehicles.”
It is learnt that the respective deputy commissioners were assigned the task of preparing a special committee under them to implement this scheme and identify eligible self help groups to operate the vehicles.
However, till date only two districts – West Khasi Hills and West Garo Hills – have completed the exercise.