Asansol: Trucks line the roadside near the West Bengal-Jharkhand border at Rampur Motor Vehicles check post. WB state police personnel channel traffic under the gleaming midday sun, as trucks loaded with consignment pass one by one from Jharkhand, and elsewhere in the country, into West Bengal.
Officially, all goods vehicles entering the state are ought to pay road tax imposed by the Transport Directorate of the West Bengal government. "...Please Pay road tax of your vehicles here", says a sign in green in accordance, with an arrow pointing towards the Motor Vehicle Inspector's office.
If you're a passerby, a chat with drivers in the area, however, will accustom you to a very different reality. What appears to be normal in plain sight, is bound to get murkier in case one takes a stroll around the check post.
"Danda tax ke liye sampark karein, yahan guide bhi milta hai' (contact for 'danda tax', guides are also available here) announce letters in white on the closed shutter of a roadside shop, acting as a makeshift billboard. 'Danda tax'. An additional, unofficial, yet enforced tax allegedly collected by local motor vehicle officials, seemingly with silent agreement from local administration, from each goods vehicle passing through. Or so admit the drivers.
"It is around Rs 3,300 for one truck. This only happens here in West Bengal. Sometimes I pay it by myself, and sometimes pay a dalal (broker) to do it for me. He charges around Rs 150" says Ghulam Nabi, a truck driver delivering goods from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Asked why he was waiting on the border, another trucker from Rajasthan with a similar tale to tell, said he has recently had to dish out anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for crossing the border, adding that he had denied it this time and did not know how long he would have to wait.
Accounts from several, however, mark one thing - 'Danda Tax' when passing through the MVI checkpoint directly costs more than taking help from a broker. "The tax exceeded Rs 3,800 on multiple occasions when I tried to pay the directly in the past. With help from a broker, however, the entire amount from my pocket stayed within Rs 3,500" says Mohammad Ehsan.
"There are certain officials from the MVI, as well as local elements, who have started this thing. The check post is quite close to the border, and Motor Vehicles officials are complicit in this crime.
If they wanted, they could have easily prevented this, but this 'entry tax' is a good source of income. We have addressed this issue through our party, and even sent letters to district administration. No plausible change can be seen on the horizon" local BJP leader Tonku Verma said.
When contacted, no comment was available from the administration on the matter.
