The Meghalaya State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has approved a series of major decisions aimed at providing financial relief to local transporters, improving administrative functioning in forest management, and further curbing VIP culture through stricter regulations on official vehicle name boards.
In a major relief measure for the transport sector, the Cabinet approved a comprehensive One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme to waive and reduce huge accumulated penalties related to motor vehicle taxes, passenger and goods taxes, and fitness fees.
Chief Minister Sangma stated that a large number of commercial trucks and transporters in Meghalaya had failed to renew licenses or obtain fitness certificates over the last two decades. He said this situation arose due to weak enforcement in earlier years and lack of compliance among vehicle owners and drivers.
The Chief Minister explained that while the actual annual fitness certificate renewal fee is only Rs 1,200, the penalty for non-renewal accumulates at Rs 50 per day. This pushes the annual penalty to nearly Rs 18,000. For a commercial truck that has not renewed its fitness certificate for twenty years, the penalty can rise to almost Rs 3 lakhs.
According to government estimates, the total accumulated penalties across commercial vehicles in the state have reached a notional figure of nearly Rs 900 crores. In comparison, the actual pending Motor Vehicle tax is around Rs 21 crores, while outstanding passenger and goods tax amounts to nearly Rs 5 crores.
The government noted that most affected truck owners and drivers are local residents, many belonging to economically weaker sections. It observed that forcing them to pay such massive penalties could severely damage livelihoods and disrupt the state’s transport system.
To address the issue, the Cabinet approved a 90% exemption on penalties related to expired fitness certificates under the OTS scheme. Additionally, an 80% exemption has been granted on outstanding Motor Vehicle taxes as well as passenger and goods taxes.
The government said the move would help transport operators recover financially while also enabling authorities to streamline future registration and fitness certification processes.
In another key decision, the Cabinet approved an administrative amendment to the Meghalaya Forest Authority Act of 1991. The law was originally enacted thirty-five years ago to strengthen coordination and monitoring between the State Forest Department and the Autonomous District Councils.
However, the Act could not be fully implemented because it lacked provisions allowing the Forest Authority to utilize state government funds, even for basic activities such as conducting meetings or organizing joint programmes.
Following legal concerns raised by the Law Department, the new amendment introduces provisions enabling the Authority to use state-allocated funds for day-to-day operations. The government believes this will revive the long-dormant body and improve its functioning.
The Cabinet also approved a fresh notification from the Transport Department regulating the use of designation and name boards on official vehicles as part of the government’s continued crackdown on VIP culture.
The move follows an earlier standard operating procedure restricting the unauthorized use of sirens and flashing lights on vehicles.
Under the new rules, the Transport Department has introduced a standardized format for designation boards and finalized a list of authorized individuals permitted to use them.
The approved list limits the use of such name boards to select high-ranking officials from the state government, judiciary, senior administration, and certain statutory posts under the Central Government. The government said the decision aims to ensure accountability, uniformity, and proper compliance across the state.
