HC directs Two States to submit ATRs by June 2

Hyderabad: The High Court at Hyderabad has directed the Transport Departments of Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh to file Action Taken Reports on how many checks were conducted on buses belonging to private travels for checking the actual working hours of the drivers as per Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961. If the Principal Secretaries of both the States do not submit the reports by June 2, they will have to appear in person in the Court on June 6.

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akhter gave this direction during the course of hearing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by an advocate KV Subba Reddy seeking implementation of provisions of Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 and the Rules made thereunder. He cited that the bus accident in Krishna district on February 28 was an outcome of this non-implementation.

The bench during the previous hearing had directed the Transport Department authorities to file a report on what action they were taking to enforce implementation of the statute. The Government Pleader for AP Transport Department, B Satyanarayana, submitted the report filed by Principal Secretary in this regard on Tuesday. After perusing the report, the bench expressed anger at the casual manner in which its orders were being treated by the officials. “What action has been taken to enforce the work hours of the drivers.

How many buses were checked? These details are absent. This report is not worth the paper on which it is written”, remarked the bench. It said many of the accidents can be traced to over-worked drivers, who are forced to work for over 12 hours while the Act stipulates it should be only for 6 hours or so. It said it appears neither of the governments have so far implemented the provisions of the Act and directed submission of ATR reports by June 2.

By Legal Correspondent