Bihar Transport Minister orders show-cause notices to DTOs over poor revenue collection

Patna, Oct 30 (IANS) Bihar Transport Minister Damodar Raut has directed the issuance of show-cause notices to more than 10 District Transport Officers (DTOs) for failing to achieve their assigned revenue collection targets.

The directive was issued during a review meeting with DTOs held on Friday at the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation auditorium in Phulwari Sharif, Patna.

The meeting reviewed revenue collection, road safety and the functioning of the transport system.

During the review, the Minister was informed that revenue collection in several districts was below 40 per cent of the assigned targets.

These included Munger, Kaimur, Saran, Jehanabad, Madhepura, Lakhisarai, Nawada, Buxar, Khagaria and Saharsa.

Raut directed the concerned DTOs to explain their performance and instructed all officers to visit the field personally to accelerate revenue collection and achieve the targets.

To improve transparency in enforcement activities, he also directed that body-worn cameras be provided to Enforcement Sub-Inspectors (ESIs) deployed at key checkposts, including those in Nawada, Kaimur, Gaya and Gopalganj.

In view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, the Minister instructed officials to keep a strict watch on buses to prevent overloading and ensure passenger safety.

He also directed a complete crackdown on ‘jugaad’ vehicles and ordered a month-long special drive to seize vehicles operating without valid Registration Certificates (RCs).

The Minister asked officials to expedite pending driving licence (DL) applications and directed the agency concerned to resolve complaints about the poor quality of driving licence cards within 15 days.

He also called for speeding up ongoing projects, including the construction of driving training schools and bus stands, along with road safety initiatives.

On hit-and-run cases, Raut instructed DTOs to deal with victims and their families sensitively and ensure that they receive benefits under government welfare schemes without delay or unnecessary difficulties.

Emphasising the need to reduce road accident fatalities, the Minister directed officials to widely publicise the Pradhan Mantri Rahat Yojana, which provides cashless medical treatment to road accident victims.

He stressed the need to inform people about hospitals registered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

For effective implementation, DTOs were asked to coordinate with District Magistrates and the scheme’s nodal officers.

The Minister also suggested creating awareness at police stations so that personnel could help accident victims gain admission to hospitals empanelled under the scheme.

During the meeting, Raut also inaugurated a selfie point named ‘I Love Patna DTO’ outside the Patna DTO office.

Senior officials present included Transport Department Secretary Raj Kumar, State Transport Commissioner Arif Ahsan and Additional Secretary Praveen Kumar.

–IANS

ajk/dan