Cabinet decides to strengthen rural transport system

The State Cabinet on Tuesday decided to strengthen rural transport system as per Transport Policy 2010, which divides the routes into two categories - general routes and rural routes.

General routes will be those connecting tehsil headquarters or administered by municipal corporation, municipality or nagar panchayat. Even part of a general route will be identified as general route.

Rural routes will be those connecting one village with another in which inclusion of general route is less than 5 km. With a view to increase the capacity of buses running on rural routes, it has been decided that buses plying on general routes should have more than 21 seats and those plying on rural routes will have less than 22 seats capacity, excluding the driver and conductor.

Only buses with these capacities will be given permits in a bid to ensure that only suitable buses plied on rural routes and chances of misusing concessions were minimised.

‘Rural Bus Service’ will also be defined and notified. Medium size vehicles, whose capacity is between 6 and 21 seats, will be in the category of Rural Bus Service and such vehicles will be permitted to run in rural areas only.

‘Rural Bus Service’ will be written on a white ribbon of 10 cm width and in blue colour on the top of the windscreen and on both sides of the body of such buses.

For rural routes and buses plying on these routes, tax on concessional rate will be implemented so that bus services on these routes do not run on loss.

The buses plying on these routes will have to pay Rs 60 per seat per three months as taxes. At present the rate per seat per month for 100 km is Rs 120 on rural routes.

The three-tier tax system was notified on May 15 2008. The situation prevailed before the notification will be reinstated. As a result of this prime route and far-flung route system will have no difference.

The tax rate for general routes has been fixed at Rs 160 per seat for 100 kms and above this the rate will be Rs 10 per seat per 10 kms.

The Cabinet has also decided to increase the retirement age of medico-legal officers working in Madhya Pradesh Medico Legal Institutions from 60 years to 65 years.

The Cabinet has also decided to give five years time to pass Hindi typing examination to Class IV employees who were promoted as Assistant Grade III.

Defers request to mortgage land for medical college

SR: A proposal to allow a Jain organisation to mortgage a 25 acre plot of land for setting up a medical college on the outskirts of Bhopal was deferred by the State Cabinet here on Tuesday. The organisation wanted to mortgage the land with a bank to raise funds for the construction of the college building.

The State Government had allotted the land to Digambar Jain Sarvodaya Gyanpeeth in Badwai village in September 2008 on a lease rent of only Re 1 per square feet. Sources said as soon as the proposal was brought before the Cabinet, Urban Administration and Development Minister Babulal Gaur objected to it, saying if the Government land was mortgaged, what the organisation would do.

Gaur said that two years ago, when the land was allotted to the organisation, the rules and regulations had clearly mentioned that the Government land cannot be mortgaged.

Following the objection, the Cabinet deferred the proposal to a later date.