HRDM decries Transport Dept order
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 03 2015 :
Human Rights Defender, Manipur during a press meet held at Manipur Press Club today has decried the High Security Registration Plate order issued by the Directorate of Transport, Government of Manipur terming it as a means to loot money from the public while warning to file a PIL against the department.
Secretary of HRDM, Moirangthem Rakesh said that the IND high security registration number plates issued by the Directorate of Transport are non-functional as there are no memory chips or any tracking devices in any of the registration plate issued by the Department.
In the name of giving a secure number plate to vehicle owners of the State, many officials of the Transport Department are earning money through illegal means.
Moreover, it has given due advantage to security and traffic police personnel to earn extra money from the public by necessitating IND high security number plate in every vehicle.
Rakesh further maintained that VDF and traffic police personnel along with other State security personnel have been indulging in shameful activity of collecting unauthorised tax from commercial vehicles.
He said, "There is chaos among the VDF, traffic, home guards and State security persons as to what work they should do" .
While the situation is well known to many high ranking officials of the State most of them have failed to take up the issue with the authorities concerned.
Stating that the State Human Rights Commission is now in a defunct state, chairman of HRDM Joy Chingakham said, "The public have nowhere to go where they could put up their grievances on rights violation" .
Furthermore, the State Government has shunned all works for revival of the State Human Rights Commission although there are many people working in the field.
He asserted that the rights of the public has been violated by various State Government Departments in many ways.
One such example is the lack of DNA profiling facility in Forensic Science Department, Pangei.
On the issue of High Security Registration Plate, he demanded immediate revocation of the order by the Directorate of Transport.
In case the order is not revoked, he warned, HRDM would file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Department in the High Court of Manipur.
HRDM would, henceforth, help the public in reporting their grievances on right violations to the National Human Rights Commission or the International Human Rights Commission, he added.