300,000 driving licences issued illegally, Sindh Assembly told

As many as 300,000 illegal driving licences have been issued so far while the provincial government has no power to collect motor vehicle tax and issue vehicle fitness certificate and driving licences, the Sindh Transport Minister, Akhtar Hussain Jadoon told the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday.
With Speaker Nisar Khuhro in chair, the minister received a number of questions during the assembly session regarding his department's policies. He said in all three provinces except Sindh, the provincial governments issued driving licences and vehicle fitness certificate. He said that Sindh government should legislate to attain such powers to streamline the transport issues in the province.
He said the provincial department had undertaken four different schemes related to improve the transportation in the province. In line with the schemes, he said, the department computerised the offices of PTA and RTs, besides restoring the private and government motor training schools in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.
He said some 500 inter-city buses were started to facilitate the people of the province. He said the government was setting up bus terminals in Thatta, Badin and Mero Khan areas of the province. He said the government was working on Euro-II project to run 100 buses to connect Karachi with other cities of the province.
He said the defunct KTC and RTC departments of the Sindh Transport Department had some 36 properties, which Rangers, police, government, and private groups had grabbed. He said the department was making efforts to vacate the grabbed prosperity. Akhtar Hussain pointed out that the government would provide the transporters of CNG buses with 20 percent subsidy while the 80 percent cost the investors would have to bear. He told the legislators that the governments across the world were providing such financial assistance's to their respective transport sectors. He said the government had previously a plan to help the investors obtain finances from banks to introduce CNG-kitted buses in the province, but it could not become possible for some reasons.
However, he said, now the government planned to provide them with 20 percent subsidy on the same project. He said the decision of the government was correct. The minister said the transporters were allowed to increase fares by Re.1 after the fuel prices went up by Rs 8-9 per litre. He said the fares were also reduced if the fuel prices declined.