Wednesday, 27 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Transport department has requisitioned about 13,000 vehicles against the requirement of 12,362 vehicles under its vehicle requisition drive across the State to ensure the proper conduct of Lok Sabha elections. Out of about 13,000 vehicles, the department has requisitioned about 3,367 vehicles from government departments and the remaining from commercial vehicle operators, the regional transport officer of Dehradun division (Administration) Sunil Sharma said. He informed that the department has requisitioned about 1,829 vehicles in Dehradun, 1,507 in Nainital, 1,170 in Almora, 1,165 in Haridwar, 1,159 in Tehri, 1,000 in Chamoli, 968 in Pauri, 867 in Pithoragarh, 851 in Udham Singh Nagar, 686 in Bageshwar, 649 in Uttarkashi and 524 in Rudraprayag and 456 in Champawat. The RTO further said that the department usually acquires six types of passenger vehicles that work for about eight hours every day during duty. The first two types include an ordinary cab worth less than Rs eight lakh and a deluxe cab worth more than Rs eight lakh which will be paid Rs 1,430 and 2,355 daily respectively. The third type is a luxury cab worth over Rs 15 lakh but less than Rs 35 lakh which will get paid Rs 3,480 daily. The fourth type is a super luxury cab worth over Rs 35 lakh which will be paid Rs 4,825 daily. The remaining two types are buses with a capacity of 30 seats or less and over 30 seats for daily payments of Rs 2,840 and Rs 3,800 respectively. Besides this, the department also acquires five types of good-carrying vehicles that can carry the weight of at least 3,000 kilogrammes to 16,200 kilogrammes and above. The vehicle owners will be paid from a minimum of Rs 572 to a maximum of Rs 2,576 daily for the service, Sharma said. He also informed that the department will arrange 4 by 4 vehicles that can be driven in snow and harsh weather in areas like Dehradun’s Chakrata if needed. He stated that the smaller vehicles like cars and cabs are usually allotted to Flying Squad Teams (FSTs), observers, zonal and sector magistrates, police and home guards among others as per the requirement. The department has given the responsibility to track the movement of the acquired vehicle and how much fuel was used by the respective driver to district supply officers. Besides this, the department is also planning to install vehicle location tracking devices on zonal and sector magistrates’ vehicles to ensure their vehicles can be monitored easily. It will also help them to convey information to authorities concerned during an emergency.
Drivers will vote through postal ballot
DEHRADUN : The Transport department is making arrangements to ensure drivers of all acquired vehicles can cast a vote through postal ballot and do not miss it during duty. The regional transport officer (Administration) Sunil Sharma said that the department is filling out the required forms to ensure no driver is deprived of their right to vote. Responding to the claims of delayed payments by the department after elections, the RTO said that the cause of delayed payments to the owners of the vehicles is usually due to incomplete and delayed information provided by the owners. The vehicle owners have been asked to keep all required documents with them and present them to the department to ensure they get payments on time. Besides this, many have also been approaching the department citing various reasons why they cannot give their vehicle for election duty. “We consider cases with relevant reasons as somebody needs it for their wedding. However, the applications with reasons like advance bookings are always denied,” he added.
