Illegal goods' transport going unchecked

HYDERABAD: Illegal transportation of goods by private buses is going unchecked in the state in spite of the laws which can be invoked against the erring operators. The Volvo buses with a huge luggage space are coming in handy for the operators to carry goods illegally.
Nearly 500 private buses ply in the state. The level at which illegal transportation is running in the state came to fore when a motorbike was found in a Volvo bus that caught fire after hitting a lorry in Khammam district recently.
The transport department has the power to seize a vehicle for carrying luggage over the permissible limit in a passenger vehicle while the commercial taxes department can levy penalty for transporting consignments without valid documents.
Personnel from transport and commercial taxes departments and other revenue detection wings are posted at the integrated checkposts at the entry points into the state. But private buses are hardly checked for the luggage they carry.
Though the transport department permits private buses to run as contract carriages (from one particular distance to another), many buses are being operated as stage carriers (stops at multiple stages between two distances), which is illegal.
Added to this, they carry luggage more than the permissible limits. Personal belongings of the passengers weighing up to 50 kg are permitted in the buses. Admitting that private buses are indulging in such an act, transport department officials claim lack of manpower is not allowing them to crack the whip on the erring buses.
The commercial taxes department periodically conducts checks and levies penalty for carrying consignments without valid invoices. However, the department can only levy penalty or confiscate the goods but cannot take action against the bus operators.
"Checks are conducted only at termination points to avoid inconvenience to passengers," a joint commissioner of CT department said.
Penalties to the extent of 100 per cent of tax amount on illegally transported goods and 200 per cent of tax amount on goods brought by making false invoices are levied against the violators.
Most of these consignments which include bulk drugs come from Mumbai and other parts of the state.