In a rare case of strict action against overloaded trucks, the Himachal Pradesh Government has taken action against one such vehicle for the collapse of a bridge in Solan district, near Shimla, the Himachal capital.
The Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT), which is actively campaigning against overloading of vehicles, has called on the Government to invoke the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act which empowers it to seize the truck and detain the driver.
In the latest case, a truck registered in Punjab and going to Hyderabad with 20 tonnes of apples, fell into a rivulet after the bridge it was crossing collapsed in Solan district. The bridge was fit for trucks weighing less than nine tonnes which was the authorised pay load of this Hyderabad-bound truck.
“This truck was to travel on national highways passing through six states. Such overloaded trucks are a major source of premature damage to highways besides being accident hazards,’’ said an IFTRT Senior Fellow S P Singh.
The Central Road Research Institute study backed Mr. Singh’s observations. It said even 10 per cent overloaded trucks entail additional maintenance cost of about Rs. 20 lakh per km over and above the normal cost. The Government is also aware of the issue and had incorporated an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Bill which penalises the consignor or transport intermediary of the overloaded truck along with the owner.
Last year, the Union Cabinet has also taken note of the rampant damage on toll roads by overloaded trucks and had asked the Ministry of Roads and Highways to renegotiate toll contracts with concessionaires in a way that overloaded trucks must be asked to pay 10 times the normal toll charges.
The Supreme Court too passed an order in 2005 directing that a truck caught for overloading must off-load the extra cargo.
