Madhya Pradesh Reconstitutes State Transport Authority

The Madhya Pradesh Government has reconstituted the State Transport Authority, removing the powers earlier held by the Transport Department secretary.

The new arrangement will see an Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary-level officer heading the authority as its chairman, while the Transport Commissioner will be a member.

This move comes after the matter reached the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had issued a notice to the Chief Secretary seeking a response on the appointment of the STA chairman.

The court's notice was in response to a petition filed by transporter Ajay Narayan Pathak, numbered 36062, which raised questions over the appointment of the STA chairman.

The Transport Department Secretary, Manish Singh, was earlier holding multiple responsibilities, including the post of STA chairman, as well as being the managing director of Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Passenger Transport and Infrastructure Limited.

The court considered the post to fall under the category of an office of profit under Section 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act, prompting the government to restructure the STA.

Using powers under Section 68 (1) and (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the state government issued an order restructuring the STA, superseding the earlier order and bringing the new arrangement into effect immediately across Madhya Pradesh.

The restructuring is seen as a response to the court's notice and the petition filed by Pathak, and is intended to address concerns over the appointment of the STA chairman.

The Madhya Pradesh Government's decision to reconstitute the STA is a significant development in the state's transport sector, and is likely to have implications for the regulation of public passenger transport in the state.

The new arrangement is expected to bring greater clarity and transparency to the functioning of the STA, and to address concerns over the concentration of power in the hands of a single official.