Kaliapani: The Minerals Truck Association has stopped transportation of chromites due to a dispute between the administration, the Mineral Truck Association and the Kuhika Truck Owners Association over the first-come-first loading system in the Sukinda Chromite Mining area in Jajpur district, Thursday.
Sources said the Kuhika Truck Owners Association is upset over the transportation token loading system followed by the Mineral Truck Association. So the Association had given a memorandum on the issue to the administration.
The police as per the instruction of the High Court and the district administration enforced the first-come-first loading system for 10, 12 and 14 wheeled trucks controlled by the Mineral Truck Association.
Upset at this, the Mineral Truck Association started non-cooperation with the administration and stopped transportation of chromites from the Sukinda Mining Area.
Former Collector Saswat Mishra had declared illegal the collection of fees, dispute over leadership and monopoly of powerful truck owners in 2003. He had banned the loading slip system given by the Truck Association at that time.
But after some time some politicians started the special loading system for more than 200 truck owners as the ban on those truck owners affected the interest of politicians. This resulted in the Truck Association filing a case in the High Court.
In 2009, the HC had ordered to enforce the first-come-first loading system in the Sukinda Mining Area. But the administration took six years to enforce it.
Now, six wheeled trucks are transporting minerals from the area on a first-come-first loading system properly.
The 10, 12, and 14 wheeled trucks are controlled by the Truck Loading Mineral Association. The Kuhika Truck Owners Association is not satisfied with the Mineral Truck Association as it opposed the first-come-first loading system. The Kuhika Truck Owners Association has filed a case in this regard in the HC which has increased tensions with the district administration.
As per order No: 14642/2015 the HC has instructed the administration to enforce the first-come-first loading system for all types of trucks.
The Kuhika Truck Owners Association has alleged that the administration had submitted a false affidavit in the HC that the first-come-first loading system is enforced on all trucks. But in reality this system is not enforced on the Mineral Truck Association.
Acting on the allegation of the Kuhika Truck Owners Association the administration imposed the first-come-first loading system on Sukinda Mineral Association Wednesday. This affected the interests of the Association and it has stopped transportation of chromites.
Kuhika Truck Owners Association Secretary Arun Kumar Nayak said they will follow only the first-come-first loading system.
The fight between the Mineral Truck Association, administration and the Kuhika Truck Owners Association has totally stopped transportation of chromites. This has resulted in huge revenue loss to the government.
PNN