Traffic police unhappy that government gave certification authority to transport department
On March 31 this year, the provincial assembly passed an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1969, through which traffic penalties were modified and the authority of issuing fitness certificates to commercial and public transport vehicles was handed over to the provincial transport department. However, the traffic police and the home department have raised objections over the transfer.
As the amendment bill awaits the governor’s approval before being implemented, the motor vehicle inspection wing of the traffic police continues to issue fitness certificates to commercial vehicles. The inspection is carried out by the police at their motor vehicle inspection ground in Saeedabad, Baldia Town.
According to the traffic police, inspecting the vehicles and issuing certificates are ‘technical work’. The motor vehicle inspectors are officials who cannot be taken from the traffic police to some other department. “They [the transport department] covertly passed the bill in the assembly as they want to issue certificates to unfit vehicles,” said Sindh Traffic Police AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo, adding that they have written to the home department to seek its help against the legislation. The home department will, in turn, write to the provincial law department. “It will create problems for us as it will lead to a mushrooming of unfit vehicles and it will only contribute further to the existing traffic issues,” said Thebo.
Meanwhile, the transport department officials said that they have formed a strategy to inspect the vehicles and to regulate them properly; they will hire new technical staff and also bring in new machinery to make the institute fully functional.
A high-ranking official of the department, on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the traffic police and the home department have joined hands to undo the amendment to serve their own agendas. “In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Punjab, the transport department issues the fitness certificates,” he said, rejecting the allegations that the transport department cannot technically inspect the vehicles.
He added that if the traffic police issue the certificates and then reinforce them as well, it will lead to corruption and bribery. “Hundreds of vehicles should be inspected daily but the traffic police inspection yard is somehow always empty,” he said. “We will show people a stark difference in how the inspection is conducted when we are handed over the system,” he said.
Transporters reject amendment
Public transporters have also rejected the new amendment out of fear that the transport department will issue fitness certificates to Qingqis. “Both the traffic police and the transport department are corrupt but at least the motor vehicle inspectors of the traffic police are not issuing fitness certificates to the Qingqis,” said Ittehad Karachi Transport general secretary Syed Mehmood Afridi. “The transport department has set this up for this very reason.”
Afridi accused the transport department for failing to do anything in the past 10 years to earn the certification powers. He warned that they will protest and go to the high court if the amendment was not reversed.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2014.
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So far traffic police and police could not play any role for the transport sector, specially many unfit vehicles are plying in the province having sub-standard CNG material also. There is independent department of transport like other provinces so similarity of functions is very much necessary to show the progress in transport sector. Transporters have always some anti-Govt policies to keep Govt. under pressure whatever the matter is. Transport should be dealt fully by Transport Department and on any fault only one department would be held responsible ultimately.
Ittehad Karachi Transport and traffic police are both responsible for destroying transport system of Karachi. Every bus is is a menace and unfit to be on road. They should be confiscated and new investors should be allowed to bring in the buses. Almost every cop higher then inspector own a bus. What can you expect from these corrupt people? There is conflict of interest, fitness should be managed separately.
As if Traffic Police was not misusing this authority. Picture speaks it self.