The amended version of Carriers Act 1865 is likely to ban the small transport units in a bid to create an organised sector.
The committee headed by Association of State Road Transport Undertakings executive director M. Koteeswaran suggested amendments to certain provisions of the Act to organise the industry with only large and accountable transport companies.
Speaking to Business Standard Koteeswaran said that the present Act does not restrict the entry of non-serious players and 95 per cent of the industry has been dominated by small trasporters having one or two trucks. This has led to creation of a `faceless' industry and a lot of fraudulent activities, causing woes to both transporters and consumers. So, amendments have been proposed to ensure a credible organised transport industry and compulsory declaration of valuation of goods by consumers, he added.
However, road transport secretary Ashok Joshi said that the proposed amendments are under consideration and the ministry of surface transport is yet to take a final decision on them.
Koteeswaran said that committee with representatives from MoST, insurance sector, Planning Commission, Railways, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and industrial houses like Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had submitted its report to MoST in the first week of April.
After finalisation, MoST will send the amendments to the law ministry, before sending them to Cabinet.
Koteeswaran said that to bring the desired change in the complexion of the trucker industry, nine or ten small players could join to form a co-operative to ensure an institutionalise structure.
AIMTC has also demanded a cap on liability to be paid by transporters to protect them from frauds practised by senders of the goods and occurrence of mishaps like robbery, accidents during journey. AIMTC secretary general J M Saxena said that the cap on the liability has been a key demand of the transporters.
However, Koteeswaran said that capping of liability is not the primary issue to look at. While the declaration of the valuation on part of the consumer would be made mandatory, the establishment of an accountable organised industry would automatically solve the frauds and other problems.
