Amendments to be introduced in Motor Vehicles Act: Official

Tiruchirapalli (TN), Jan 25(PTI) Heavy Industries Departmentwould introduce strategic amendments to Motor Vehicles Actenvisaging hassle free transportation of heavy and hugematerials to destinations across the country notwithstandingconditions of rural roads and multi terrain tracks, a topofficial of the department said here.

Talking to reporters B S Meena, Secretary, Department ofHeavy Industry, said at present there were some hurdles toheavy engineering industries like BHEL, who manufacture hugepower plant equipments, to mobilise vehicles to transporttheir materials to sites where new thermal/hydel power plantswere coming up.

The ministry had convened an interdisciplinarymeeting recently to assess the difficulties and problems,Meena said.

Strategic recommendations have been presented to RoadTransport Ministry, National Highway Authority of India andothers enabling them to introduce certain amendments in thepresent Motor Vehicles Act, he said.

He said in principle surface transport ministry hadextended its constant and support and before tabling therequisite bill in the Parliament, some state governments haveto revise the regulations.

In some state government highway routes,materials exceeding50 tonnes were not allowed and mega-sized hydraulic craneswere also disallowed in some important road sectors.

The amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act were expectedto give much relief to heavy industries enabling them therigid delivery schedule and crystallization of major powerplants coming up across the country.

The Railway Ministry had sanctioned the system of singlewindow clearance envisaging industries like BHEL to mobilisematerials without any delay and procedural wrangles, he said.

Meena said the Heavy Industries Department was taking upserious considerations in the revival of sick industries.

Since 2004 the Centre had identified 33 sick heavy industriesout of which revival of 18 industries had already beenthrough, he said.

The Hindustan Photo Films in Nilgiris district of TamilNadu was also included in the agenda, he said. .

On the overall performance of heavy industries, Meena said the "grey areas" were in vogue in the sectors of textilemachinery manufacture, production of high-end machine toolsand mining equipments manufacture.

He observed that there were no takers as regard to machinetool manufacture since private entrepreneurs hesitate toevince interest in the investments and the mining equipmentssector do not seem to match the global standards.

He said the Ministry was examining proposals of establishingcluster backed common facility centres, financial or strategicsupport for implementing new technologies, requisite programsto bridge skill development gap faced by the industries andalso grey patches in R&D wings.

For the above, planning commission had already issued itsnod and pending some clearances from other ministries theconcept of common facility centres would crystallize hopefullyin the next six months, he said.

As of now the locations and industries specific facilitycentres were yet to be finalised. However, he said, the modelswill be in the format of industry and government participationon a fifty-fifty ratio investment.

Meena, who visited BHEL complex here, said "days are notfar off when BHEL Trichy Complex will clinch an annualturnover of Rs.20,000 crore." (In the year 2009-10 BHEL Trichyclocked a turnover of Rs.10,008 Crores maintaining Y-o-Ygrowth rate of 35 per cent plus).