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Apex transporters body All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) today threatened to go an indefinite nationwide strike from October 1, alleging that the government has failed to address their issues, including removal of toll.
AIMTC claims to represent 93 lakh truckers and 50 lakh buses and tourist operators across the country.
“We are going on an indefinite nationwide strike from October 1 as the Transport Ministry has failed to resolve our issues such as removal of toll by paying periodically as well as the long standing demand of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS),” All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) President Bhim Wadhwa told PTI.
If the truckers go on a nationwide ‘chakkajam’ then the country will incur losses to the tune of Rs 1,500-1,700 crore per day on account of total halt of essential supplies and other goods, he added.
“We had met Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari yesterday, but to no avail. We are now left with no other option than to take this extreme step,” Wadhwa said.
He added that if toll plazas are removed, hassle free transportation would result in savings of public money to the tune of Rs 87,000 crore annually that accounts for 3 per cent of the country’s GDP, as per an IIM Kolkata study.
This amount is due to loss of fuel on account of waiting at toll plazas as well as delays caused, Wadhwa said.
We have been continuously raising the issue of lack of transparency in the toll collection system leading to severe hardships to transporters but the government has chosen to remain silent. Both the toll system and TDS provisions are affecting transporters,” Wadhwa said.
Truckers have demanded collection of one-time toll annually or quarterly or monthly on the pattern of national permit and relaxation in the TDS.
He said the road transport fraternity is very much annoyed at the current state of affairs as majority of the highway traffic constitutes goods and passenger commercial vehicles but the government is not bothered to address their issues.
AIMTC said it has been raising the issues of flawed toll policy, “draconian provisions” of carriage by Road Act and ambiguous policy of registration, among others, but was getting only assurances.
The annual toll collection by the government is around Rs 14,000 crore annually.
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