SHILLONG: The District Transport Office (DTO) in East Khasi Hills is in the spotlight once again for the all the wrong reasons — this time for allowing the STPS buses to ply without the mandatory permit.
An RTI reply has revealed that the STPS buses, which are registered under the Government registration number (ML-01), are running in the city without any permit.
“As per the rules, any commercial vehicle whose weight exceeds 3000 kilogram should possess a permit to ply. But strangely, the DTO has allowed the STPS buses to ply in the city without the permit which is illegal,” East Khasi Hills Taxi Associations advisor Taxi Associations Disparsing Rani, who sought information under Right to Information (RTI) Act, told newsmen here on Thursday.
He also said that the DTO also violated the directive of Regional Transport Authority (RTA) by allotting permit to a vehicle which is not eligible for the scheme under the rural and women local taxis category.
The RTA directive says “Permit should be allotted to those local taxis which are of 2005 and onwards model or brand new.”
“As per the RTI reply, one local taxi (ML05-D-8678) was issued permit despite being a model of 2004,” Rani said.
The East Khasi Hills Taxi Associations advisor also alleged that several irregularities, which took place in the District Transport Office (DTO) in the past, have come to light.