Shortage of 40% staff could derail road safety

Shortage of 40% staff could derail road safety

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Feb 01, 2016:  The State government is vigorously perusing the compulsory helmet rule for pillion riders, but no action is visible to recruit adequate personnel in the Transport Department to streamline the system.

While there were 28 lakh vehicles and 1.8 lakh driving licence holders in the State in 1997, the department had 2,222 sanctioned posts; when these figures rose to 1.47 crore and 1.19 crore respectively, the posts rose just about by 500 (to 2,750). The revenue too increased by 10 times, from Rs. 401 crore to Rs. 4,145 crore.

Of the 2,750 posts in the Transport Department, 1,150 are vacant, which is about 40 per cent.

Lack of Inspectors : A senior department official said that at least 1,500  IMVs -  Inspectors of Motor vehicles  were needed at the rate of one for 10,000 vehicles; 500 of them for Bengaluru alone that has 50 lakh vehicles.

In response to an RTI query by Balehonnur-based activist Shankaranarayana Bhat, Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda recently informed that the department had urged the government to fill 150 posts of IMVs and about 300 posts of First and Second Division Assistants.

Rame Gowda told media that the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) is processing proposals to recruit 150 IMVs and 11 regional transport officers. The delay was due to reservation for Hyderabad-Karnataka region and the High Court stay on recruitment, he said.

The shortage has severely affected revenue collection as not many personnel were on roads to check vehicles — tax payment, driving licence, pollution details etc.   Additional Commissioner for Transport (Administration) L. Hemanth Kumar agreed that issuing driving licences too is a cause for concern with the dwindling numbers of IMVs. More than the vehicles, the department has to concentrate on driving licences, since responsible driving alone will ensure safer roads. The government should at least fill existing vacancies.