JAJPUR: Enforcement of the amended Motor Vehicle Act, which is giving sleepless nights to traffic violators since it came into force on September 1, has been found to be sloppy in Jajpur district.
In the last 10 days, only four heavy and commercial vehicles have been booked for traffic violations in the district, considered the industrial hub of the State.
The NH-16, NH-215, NH-200 and an Express Highway pass through Jajpur with thousands of commercial and heavy vehicles plying every day. The district has two Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), one at Chandikhole and the other at Jajpur town.
Chandikhole RTO covers the maximum area with over 100 km stretch of NHs and Express Highway under its jurisdiction. The entire stretch of highways under Chandikhole RTO is also guarded by as many as eight police stations and three outposts.
Still, the RTO has only apprehended two heavy vehicles and collected a fine of around Rs 1 lakh. At a time when two and three-wheelers are paying hefty fines for traffic violation in other parts of the State, heavy vehicles being let off without proper scrutiny has raised eyebrows.
“A high-level inquiry should be ordered into the activities of Chandikhole RTO which has failed to crackdown on heavy vehicles plying on NHs under its jurisdiction. They are openly committing various offences from overloading, overspeeding, dangerous driving, etc. but have been let go without checking,” Gobardhan Sethy, a social activist, alleged.
On the other hand, Jajpur Town RTO has fared better than its Chandikhole counterpart. With only a 10 km long stretch of NH under its jurisdiction, it has apprehended two heavy vehicles and imposed a fine of Rs 70,000. Besides, the RTO has imposed a fine of Rs 7.8 lakh through challans. As on Wednesday, Jajpur Town RTO has collected a total Rs 2.10 lakh fine from different vehicles.
Jajpur Town RTO Sachindra Nath Panda said, “In our jurisdiction, movement of heavy vehicles is limited. So the scope of crackdown on errant vehicles is less.”
The Chandikhole RTO could not be contacted after repeated attempts.