The Bihar transport department has issued show-cause notices to around 10 District Transport Officers over poor revenue collection and ordered a month-long crackdown on unregistered vehicles and overcrowding in buses ahead of Diwali and Chhath.
Transport minister Damodar Rawat issued the directions during a review meeting at the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation auditorium in Phulwarisharif on Friday. He instructed district transport officials to intensify enforcement drives, monitor field operations and take immediate steps to improve revenue collection.
DTOs from Munger, Kaimur, Saran, Jehanabad, Madhepura, Lakhisarai, Nawada, Buxar, Khagaria and Saharsa have come under scrutiny, according to the report. Officials from some other districts were also warned over poor performance. The department has not disclosed the individual revenue targets or the shortfall recorded by each district.
Rawat also directed officials to take action against vehicles operating without valid registration certificates. The minister described jugaad vehicles as a road safety threat and ordered officials to seize such vehicles during the month-long enforcement drive. The directions place district transport offices at the centre of both revenue mobilisation and compliance checks.
The minister asked officials to conduct strict checks on buses as the festive season approaches, with a particular focus on preventing overcrowding during travel linked to Diwali and Chhath. The instructions come at a period when demand for inter-district and inter-state bus services typically increases, although the department has not released details of the routes or operators that will be covered.
The review also addressed pending driving licence applications. Rawat directed the department to expedite applications and improve the quality of driving licence cards within 15 days. The report did not specify how many applications are pending or what changes will be made to the cards.
In addition, officials were asked to accelerate construction of driving training schools, bus stands and other road safety-related projects. The department has not provided project-wise timelines, locations or completion targets for these works.
Before the review meeting, Rawat inaugurated a selfie point titled “I Love Patna DTO” outside the Patna DTO office. The department’s next stated milestones are the month-long vehicle enforcement drive, action on pending licence applications within 15 days and follow-up measures by district transport officials on revenue collection and road safety.
