Though they are the providers of basic service such as transporting goods and essential products across the country, truck owners and transporters lack unity. No wonder that the transport sector is yet to be recognized as an industry. In a bid to address this particular issue and to bring them all together under one roof, the Federation of Karnataka Lorry Owners Associations (FOKLOA) organized a conference of South Zone Truck Owners (SZTO) in Bengaluru on May 9, with the support of the All India Confederation of Goods Vehicle Owners Associations (ACOGOA), New Delhi. The conference saw participation from transport associations from not only the southern States but also from Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar.
Practically the first conference of its kind, SZTO not only aired a long list of valid complaints but also vociferously called upon each and every association and the members to come together.
Mr. B. Channa Reddy, ACOGOA President, said: “We want to stand together so that our voice is heard. The difference of opinion among the truck owners must be addressed.”
Bringing up another angle, Mr. Rajinder Singh, General Secretary – ACOGOA, and MD, Janta Roadways, said: “This sector is undergoing a transformation. Technology is changing and so is law. New issues are coming up. So, it is our duty to update and share the changing trends in technology with our operators. The purpose of this conference is to discuss the biggest challenge which is phasing out of BS-III vehicles. With BS-IV, the cost of vehicles will increase and technology will be different.”
The veteran advocate of issues plaguing transporters and truck owners, Mr. Mohinder Singh Gill, President, Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators’ Associations, was anguished: “Till date, no Government has recognized us as an industry.”
Airing grievances
Leading the verbal attack was Mr. Reddy who remarked: “All along the Government has made false promises to collect money. Take overloading, for example. In 1993-94, the penalty was Rs. 100 per ton. Then there was an amendment to the MV Act and the penalty was fixed at a minimum of Rs. 2,000 per ton, which resulted in overloading going up by 99 per cent. The reason was that every RTO en route started demanding that we overload the truck or pay him so that he will not hold up the vehicle. As a truck owner, it is totally against my interest.”
Mr. Gill, on the other hand, said: “Across the country, we have one crore big and small trucks. There are about 15 crore people depending upon these trucks for their living. But whether it is the government, the police or the local goons… no one spares us.”
Echoing this feeling was Mr. Irfan Bhiwandiwala, Member – Managing Committee, Mahasangh, Maharashtra, who said: “Everyone on the road motions our vehicles to a stop on the pretext of examining documents. But all they want is money. They know that we are time bound to deliver the consignment, and if they make us wait, we will be compelled to pay. That is why we are here at the conference to tell both the State and the Central Governments to look at us in the domain of transport. We are service providers and facilitators, so we should not be impeded when we are in compliance.”
The GST pill
The much-awaited GST is poised to be rolled out on July 1. All stakeholders, including the institutions and associations like ACOGOA view it as a panacea to almost all ills plaguing the country’s economy.
Mr. Singh observed: “With GST, many problems that the truckers face will be eased. The authorities must remember that I am not a buyer but a mere carrier even if the cargo is contraband or under-billed. When such goods are found in my vehicle the check-post officers seize my vehicle. Do they do the same to a goods train driver? Both of us are carriers. Then why should I be punished? We are hoping that more transparency will come.”
He also pointed out that while transportation comes under the Goods Transport Agency, a trucker is not defined under it: “If they want us to be included, then the Government must understand the trucking business. They should have a common meeting to understand the trade and the hurdles. As a trucker, it is impossible for us to register in all the States we either pass through or do business in. So the Government must understand and register the owner from one place and allow him to do his business. Secondly, if they are allowing all the trade to have input credit, then truckers should also be allowed the same for all conjunctions which he uses for operation. It is our right.”
Resolution ‘Wise’
Most small owners have no financial safety net once they pawn their ancestral land or family valuables to buy a truck. They cannot but make it work.
Mr. Gill said: “A truck owner takes out a loan to buy a truck worth lakhs of rupees, then pays endless and multiple taxes, including road tax every quarter… no other service provider pays so much tax to the Government like we do, yet we are looked upon as second-class citizens in our own country.”
While the conference aired the combined grievances of its member-associations, the Government representative offered a few sops.
Dr. B. Basavaraju, Prinicpal Secretary – Transport Department, Government of Karnataka, shared: “NHAI and KIADB have signed an MoU wherein it has been decided to build a large logistics park for Bengaluru near Hosur. We are going to create truck terminals at Hospet, Hubli, Gadag and Bellari the moment we acquire land. Currently we are through with four terminals, including those at Yeshwantpur and Mysore. Also we are thinking to take up truck terminals on the PPP mode where private investors can collect fees to recover their cost. Hubli will be the pilot project this year.”
Regarding penalties, he said the State Government is at liberty to reduce penalties if it feels so.
Lost in translation
In all the hoopla, it is again the truly hapless truck driver who has not been missed by the stakeholders involved.
Mr. Reddy confessed: “The driver is our savior. The owner is helpless. It is the driver who collects the money and the owner receives salary from him. It is true that he is not respected or recognized and is viewed as a licensed killer of people on roads. Now AC cabins are being touted as a good idea. But why should the owner bother? It will only increase the cost. No one ever asks to me to hike the freight charges. But the truck driver earns better than others. He gets his salary and bonus.”
Mr. Singh acknowledged the importance of the truck driver: “The driver is the force. Without him the country cannot function. For the first time in the country, in 2012 ACOGOA had organized an event to celebrate the International Driver Day to impress upon all that the drivers need our respect and protection.”
The call for unity among truck owners and transporters will fructify only when they think ‘Country First’, which also includes a vital link in the chain – truck drivers.