Shimla, January 07 (HS): Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has demanded extension of the deadline for receiving Special Central Assistance (SCA) for capital investment till March 31, 2025. He said that to reduce the financial pressure on the state, scrapping incentives should be provided in the form of grants instead of loans.

Mukesh Agnihotri made this request in the national level meeting of Transport Ministers and Transport Development Council held under the chairmanship of Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Tuesday.

In the meeting, Mukesh Agnihotri raised several important issues related to the transport sector in Himachal Pradesh and urged the Central Government for cooperation in view of their solution. He also raised the issue of financial burden of vehicle scrapping policy as Himachal Pradesh is facing various challenges due to its geographical location and low number of vehicles, which makes the assembly of vehicles for scrapping expensive and complicated.

He said that Himachal Pradesh will have to scrap more than 7,000 government vehicles, which will affect the functioning of important departments of the state. He also urged for a more favourable financial assistance structure to ensure smooth implementation of the scrapping policy.

The Union Minister assured that he is well aware of the situation and the interests of the hill states as well as Union Territories will be protected.

Mukesh Agnihotri urged the Union Minister to extend the date for availing incentives under ATS and scrapping the vehicles from January 31 to March 31. The Union Minister took cognizance of the matter and said that the matter is under consideration.

The Deputy Chief Minister also discussed the challenges posed by All India Tourist Permit (AITP) buses operating in Himachal Pradesh. These AITP buses are running as stage carriage buses in the state though they have Contract Carriage Permit (AITP). There is a huge difference in the amount of taxes between AITP and Stage Carriage.

He urged the Central Government to set a level playing field for AITP buses and stage carriage buses as this inequality is promoting unfair competition causing losses to State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in particular. He also expressed concern about allotment of space to AITP private operators in bus stands, which effectively allows them to act as stage carriage operators, further increasing challenges for STUs.

The Deputy Chief Minister suggested that clear rules and guidelines should be framed to ensure fair competition and prevent misuse of space by AITP operators.

Nitin Gadkari said that the issue will be discussed in detail in the meeting of the Committee of all State Secretaries chaired by the Secretary to Government of India (MoRTH).

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the incentive for scrapping non-government owned vehicle in RVSF (Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility) established in the respective state should be changed to any RVSF, as currently no RVSF is functional in the state.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the Himachal Pradesh Government is developing the Urban Ropeway Network Project at a cost of Rs 1734.70 crore which will be India's first and the world's largest ropeway network. This project will be the second largest project in the world after Bolivia. The work on this project will be started in June-2025 and is likely to be completed in a period of five years. This project will improve the public transport of the state and also reduce traffic pollution.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar