Caught in the deadlock between the truckers and the Haryana government, the automobile makers got out by giving an undertaking to ensure that the large carriers transporting their vehicles were right-sized under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
The state government had on Wednesday decided to give a year’s extension to the truckers to get their vehicles right-sized.
Consequently, they will be granted a one-time vehicle fitness certificate subject to an undertaking and surety bond for Rs 2 lakh. The government has also decided that the new vehicles will be registered only if conforming to the dimension rules.
The state officials said the automobile manufacturers whose business was suffering because these oversized vehicles had come to a halt made a voluntary commitment to keep track of the rightsizing of the trucks they engage and submit a status report every quarter to the transport commissioner.
During discussions, the manufacturers and transporters maintained they were keen to follow the size rules. Hero Moto Corp representatives said it would need at least two years to right-size nearly 4,000 vehicles deployed by the company and registered in Haryana, since there were only 60-odd modification units in the region and these could reshape only 180 to 200 vehicles a month at the most.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) that uses nearly 9,000 large trucks; Honda Motors and Scooters India (HMSI); and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers had similar views. The All-India Motor Congress and other transport associations that went on a strike regretted the inability of the truckers to right-size the vehicle bodies in the time given earlier, yet they contended that large trucks ran commonly across the country and with fitness certificates from many states.
{{/usCountry}}Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) that uses nearly 9,000 large trucks; Honda Motors and Scooters India (HMSI); and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers had similar views. The All-India Motor Congress and other transport associations that went on a strike regretted the inability of the truckers to right-size the vehicle bodies in the time given earlier, yet they contended that large trucks ran commonly across the country and with fitness certificates from many states.
{{/usCountry}}“The associations said that since most of the oversized vehicles were financed, the operators will be in deep financial trouble, if the stalemate did not end,’’ said the state officials. Meanwhile, a Hero Moto Corp spokesperson said that the company had accepted the solution that the state government had worked out on Wednesday, and it would help it implement the rules.