Transport authority in Maharashtra failed to convene a single meeting in one year, claim officials

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The state transport authority (STA) in Maharashtra has not convened a single meeting in the last one year due to which several important issues concerning public transport have been left unresolved, officials said on Friday.

According to officials, the transport authority, chaired by state transport secretary Parag Jain Nainutiya, has failed to organise a single gathering despite the rule requiring at least two STA meetings in a year.

The STA is responsible for coordination among regional transport authorities (RTA), revising fares of state transport buses, granting interstate permits, and making decisions about other transport-related issues.

As per section 60 of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rule 1989, it is mandatory to convene at least two meetings of the STA within a year.

Some transporters have expressed disappointment about the functioning of the department, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

"The STA has not issued interstate permits for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and no reciprocal agreements have been countersigned since long," Mahendra Lulle of Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tankers Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh said.

The last meeting of the STA took place on July 25, 2022, following which two resolutions were passed when IAS officer Ashish Kumar, former transport secretary of the state, was its chairman, RTO officials said.

Parag Jain Nainutiya, who replaced Kumar as the transport secretary in the first week of November 2022, has not convened a single STA meeting since then, an official said.

The issuance and renewal of some rent-a-motorcycle and rent-a-cab licences, issues about permits on interstate routes between Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and other states, the decision about the new 'All India Tourist Vehicles (Authorisation and Permits) Rules 2021, and several other issues are pending in the absence of meetings, officials said.

The STA also has to ensure coordination between regional transport authorities (RTAs) and intervene if they make any contradictory decisions, they said.

The STA issues post-facto approval to colour schemes of transport undertakings such as the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), and Thane Municipal Transport (TMT), among others.

The BEST and several other transport undertakings have not applied for post-facto approval for new electric buses inducted in its fleets, and the STA has not taken any action against transport bodies for such violations, officials said.

A retired officer of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) said as per the rules, the additional transport commissioner acts as the secretary of the STA, and it is his primary responsibility to convene a meeting.

"Though it was not the STA chairman's primary responsibility to convene a meeting, he should have at least asked why no meeting was called. The chairman cannot take a stand that he did not receive any papers," the officer, who did not wish to be named, said.

While the transport secretary did not respond to an email query from PTI, additional transport commissioner Jitendra Patil claimed that they had convened a meeting of the STA, but due to some unavoidable reasons, it got postponed.

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