FAISALABAD, July 26: The Lahore High Court has declared all the wagon stands set up by scores of transporters having licence of halting points along Rakh Branch Canal and other city areas as illegal.

The court also directed the DCO, SP (Traffic) and other government functionaries to ensure the closure of all such wagon stands.

This order has been passed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry on a writ petition filed by one Muhammad Akram.

In his petition, Muhammad Akram claimed that scores of places were given to various people for setting up halting points which were being used as regular wagon and bus stands in violation of prescribed rules and regulations.

He further said that under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965 and Motor Vehicle Rules 1969, halting points could be used by all the transporters for the purpose of loading or unloading the passengers and not as a substitute for a wagon or bus stand.

The Punjab Road Transport Authority chairman, he said, had violated the law on the subject and authorized the respondents to carry on with their illegal business without any justification.

Deciding the writ petition, the chief justice observed that the halting points sanctioned under the provision of laws was of a very short duration for picking and dropping passengers.

The rules also provided that the halting points could be sanctioned in favour of a particular party subject to certain conditions which were contained in Rule 254 referred to above. The permit granted to a forwarding agent to use a place for loading, unloading or halting a goods vehicle could be given to a person when he had under his control over 30 public carriers.

As far as the picking and dropping of passengers was concerned, a halting point could be used for few minutes only by any public service vehicle.

The petitioner had a licence of travel agency given to him under the Travel Agency Act 1876. Respondent No 4 was not a regular transporter and did not own any vehicle’, the judgment added.

According to the LHC, the Punjab Road Transport Authority Lahore’s chairman did not apply his mind to facts and circumstances of the case and passed an order which was not only violative of the law on the subject but was also coloured in every respect and was not sustainable in the eyes of law.

The LHC directed the Regional Transport Authority Faisalabad, the DCO, the SSP and DPO (Traffic) for taking necessary steps for closing down the unauthorized and illegal halting stands being run by transporters.

It may be noted that former MNA and defunct Faisalabad Municipal Corporation mayor Chaudhry Sher Ali in league with some of the then district administrative officers allotted the land along Rakh Branch Canal for the purpose of wagon stands near Abdullahpur. The stands were leased out to different transporters after getting handsome amounts from them. The matter was brought to the notice of a number of forums like the Punjab Assembly and LHC.

The defunct FMC (TMA) in its written reply during a number of inquiries denied its involvement in the allotment of land for wagon stands. The site was originally in the name of the Irrigation department but it was also unable to take action against the transporters.

NAB authorities had filed a reference against Chaudhry Sher Ali for illegally allotting the land along Rakh Branch Canal to transporters for using it as wagon and bus stands.

Meanwhile, the local administration has initiated an operation and reportedly sealed over two dozen bus and wagon stands near Abdullahpur and other parts of the city. However, some of the wagon stands having licence of halting points are still working.

According to a district administration source, the grand operation will be launched within next 24 hours after getting clearance from the traffic police, TMA (city), Wapda and Telecommunication department authorities.

The DCO in capacity of District Regional Transport Authority chairman, through an SOS asked the DPO, SP (Traffic) and other officials concerned to launch a joint operation for the closure of illegal wagon stands operating on the basis of halting points near Abdullahpur.