At international checkpoint, online system helps vehicles cross over seamlessly

This was because vehicles with goods waiting to cross over into Benapole had to physically appear at the Petrapole ICP to book their slots. This meant a long wait-time – an average of 39 days in February last year – for vehicles at the checkpoint, leading to substantial loss of export business. It also affected daily exports from India, with an average of barely 300 vehicles a day managing to cross over.

That changed when the district administration, led by Collector and District Magistrate Sharad Kumar Dwivedi, introduced ‘e-Integrated Check Post Management System’, an online system of managing vehicles, on February 7. The system brought down the average waiting time – from 39 days in February 2022 to two days on July 25 last year.

As part of the system, export vehicles can book their slots online – instead of the earlier system where they could do so only after they arrive at the checkpost – and are issued a pass with the vehicle number and type of goods.

“The vehicle is given a two-day window to cross over. As a result, most trucks come to the checkpoint only on the date of the movement. The pass also has a QR code which is scanned at the kiosks near the ICP Petrapole. Once the verification is done, the vehicles are allowed to go inside the ICP Petrapole,” said DM Dwivedi, who is among the 19 winners of The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards for 2020 and 2021.

The biennial awards celebrate the finest work done by District Magistrates, women and men considered the foot-soldiers of governance as they script change that touches the lives of countless people across the country.

The Petrapole ICP is one of the busiest land ports in the country. About 350-450 trucks carrying export goods from various parts of the country pass through Bongaon town and cross the international border through the checkpoint. About 150-200 trucks laden with imported goods enter India daily from Bangladesh.

Talking about the online system, Kamlesh Saini, manager, Land Ports Authority of India, at the Petrapole checkpoint, said, “Due to this online vehicle facilitation system, the movement of export vehicles has become smooth. We now get to know which consignment is coming. The vehicle number is also provided. It is a very transparent system which benefits the exporters.”

Prem Bibhas Kansari, Sub-Divisional Officer, Bongaon, said the online system faced its share of resistance from a cabal of truck owners, exporters and middlemen, but the administration pressed ahead.

The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards 2023

“We faced several rounds of protests, yet we stood firm. A large number of people were benefiting from the 39-day wait time. Some made money by renting out parking spaces and so on,” said Kansari.

In August last year, the West Bengal government developed the online system into a portal called ‘Suvidha – Vehicles Facilitation System’, which has further helped to ease the traffic congestion outside the checkpoint.