Durbar Move cannot be made a pretext for delaying implementation of a recommendation made by the formally constituted Empowerment Committee headed by the Principal Secretary Finance. If the recommendation of 15 per cent hike in the fares was agreed upon, this should have been implemented forthwith because each hour’s delay means substantial loss to the transporters. Who is responsible for that? And if the increase of recommended 15 per cent was not acceptable either to the Government of the transporters, the matter should have been reopened for further discussion. But what has been done is beyond reason. The Government has chosen to delay the matter with the result that 75000 commercial vehicles have gone off the road throughout the State and its three regions by way of protest against not hiking fares. Imagine the loss and inconvenience it has caused and all owing to the lethargy and non-seriousness of the Government. Furthermore, we fail to understand why the cabinet wants to snatch the normal powers of the Transport Commissioner who heads the department. If Transport Commissioners in all other states of the country are empowered to deal with issues like fare hike etc., there is no justification for J&K State Government to concentrate that power in the cabinet. Cabinet meeting is a complicated matter and takes its own time. Urgent matters cannot be deferred indefinitely. Let powers be given to the Transport Commissioner to handle most of the issues related to the department of transport and this will do away with inordinate delay in deciding vial issues and opening bottlenecks. Negotiations with the striking transporters should begin forthwith so that the strike is called off after arriving at some compromise formula.
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