Advocate General told to dig into weighbridge policies

SHILLONG, July 27: The Meghalaya government has asked its advocate general to find out more about the policies on weighbridges following the Centre and the state’s contrary claims about their legal status.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said almost all weighbridges along the National Highway 6 in the state are illegal. State Transport Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar claimed they are legal.
“We have asked our advocate general to find out about the policies and we will get back with that,” Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told reporters on Tuesday.
He maintained that the state government has always followed the weighbridge policies.
Congress MP Vincent H. Pala had raised eyebrows after demanding a CBI inquiry into the illegal weighbridges run by the state government. Replying to his question in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari admitted there were several illegal state-run weighbridges in Meghalaya.
Three coalition partners of the National People’s Party’s – the United Democratic Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Party – followed this up with the demand for a probe.
Referring to the Meghalaya Weighbridge Policy, 2018, Dhar had earlier said the Transport Department is the nodal agency for the installation, maintenance and setting up of weighbridges in the state.
He said the state Transport department is authorised by the Centre to implement the provisions of the CMV Act, 1988. “Section 111 of the CMV Act permits the state government to make rules as required and Rules 113 and 114 permit only the Transport Department to make rules and set up weighbridges in the state for the purposes of carriage of permissible load,” he said, adding the department will obtain clearance if the Centre says so.
Dismissing Dhar’s claims, Pala said they neither have the mandatory sanction from the Ministry nor follow the guidelines. He added that the state government had through a notification authorised the construction of a few weighbridges without permission from the National Highways Authority of India.
“The guidelines of MoRTH say the state government should have taken the NHAI’s nod,” he said.
Shut illegal weighbridges: BJP
The State BJP has asked the state government to shut down weighbridges which do not possess NOC from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
“Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has mentioned in Parliament that there are many unauthorised weighbridges on NH 6. We have also received complaints from truckers that many weighbridges collect money from them,” State BJP president Ernest Mawrie said on Tuesday.
Referring to state Transport Minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar’s denial on illegal weighbridges, Mawrie said, “I want to make it clear that you can set up weighbridges on state highways but not on national highways.”
“If you allow illegal collection to flourish on the highways it will affect the people of the state. Transporters and truckers will hike the carrying charge and prices of essential commodities will go up,” he observed.