TRANSPORT DEPTS TO GET A LOAD OF OVERWEIGHT TRUCKS

Overloaded vehicle

Delhi’s Transport Minister Gopal Rai had, on Monday, formed a five-member committee headed by Joint Transport Commissioner of Delhi Anand Tiwari to crack down on overloaded lorries entering Delhi from the neighbouring States.

“While we have been continuously carrying out a drive against overloaded vehicles ever since the first National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, this is an additional step that we have taken by asking the Transport Departments of UP and Haryana to conduct a similar drive on their side,” Anand Tiwari told The Pioneer.

The drive will be carried out on the seven National Highways that are the main entry points to Delhi. Tiwari said that the crackdown will start after 9.30 pm, when the roads are opened for heavy trucks. While Delhi Transport Department would keep a watch on Delhi side, Transport Departments of Haryana and UP would keep a check on the same stretch on their sides of the border.

Reacting to Gopal Rai’s order, Secretary General of Delhi Goods Transport Association, Rajinder Kapoor, told The Pioneer that the transporters association is itself against overloading of vehicles. “If there’s anything that can ruin the transport business, it’s the overloading of vehicles. In fact, overloading is a menace for the vehicle owners as well. So we agree that it should be stopped,” he said.

The decision to crackdown on overloading was taken in light of a series of NGT orders to check rising pollution levels in Delhi.