Hit the road now

When an estimated 40 lakh transporters go on strike, it threatens the very lifeline of the nation. Road transport contributes 5 per cent to GDP, let8217;s not forget. It is therefore extremely welcome news that this week-long strike has been lifted and the country can get back to normalcy at a time when preparations for the festive season ahead should have been in full swing. Both manufacturers and farmers have been considerably hit. While manufacturers have been forced to cut back on output, having been starved of the raw materials that are trucked in and a way to send finished goods out; farmers been left in a limbo, unable to transport their produce. Now with the trucks back, things should soon get back on even keel.

Transporters certainly have their problems and it is important that the Central government is sensitive to them, as it has just indicated. But there are several messages emanating from this strike and its aftermath that need to be flagged: one, that the days of dodging taxes and operating as unregistered entities are drawing to an end. Indeed, large sectors like the transport sector can gain immeasurably from adopting a transparent way of conducting business because that would also bring them better access to bank loans, insurance facilities, as well as business opportunities. Two, that it always makes sense for the government to resist the pressure tactics of private players who cartelise in order to exert themselves because otherwise it would only pave the way for other clusters of influence to act up. Three, that the days of the pan-national industrial actions of yore are over. Not only is there no public sympathy for them, they have proved to be self-defeating. There are no shortcuts to negotiations conducted in a spirit free of blackmail.

One of the major tensions that road transporters face is the prospect of having to cough up cash at every state checkpoint. The payment of octroi has proved a big source of harassment. A proper VAT regime can prove invaluable in this context and the state governments have promised that one would be in place by April 1, 2005. Of course, whether this will turn out to be an April Fool8217;s joke or not, only time will tell. By all accounts, movement on this front has been slow. For one, the consensus required for the process from state governments has been sluggish and an effective IT network 8212; which is a vital requirement if road checkpoints are to be rendered obsolete 8212; is yet to take shape. The government needs to get its act together on this front. In other words, it8217;s time for everybody to hit the road 8212; not just the truckers.