Home & Political department to stop illegal transportation and end ‘Syndicate Raj’

Home & Political department issues order to take drastic actions to stop illegal transportation of coal, supari,

liquor, livestock, timber & sand

Dispur finally seems set to take some tough steps to eliminate the “Syndicate Raj”, the very name that causes terror among the common people in the State. Even though the State Government has not used the term ‘syndicate’, the latest order issued by the Home & Political department has instructed the departments concerned to take drastic actions to stop illegal transportation of materials such as coal, supari, liquor, livestock, timber & sand. Additional Chief Secretary of Home & Political department Kumar Sanjay Krishna issued the order on November 1.

In the event of detection of illegal transportation, the officials concerned will have to write to their heads of departments within 24 hours with intimation to the deputy commissioner concerned. The departments concerned will also have to ensure wide publicity of the actions taken against such illegal transportation for the sake of transparency.

The Home department in its order has also asked the Director General of Police to issue necessary instructions to all SPs of districts to provide adequate forces whenever the departments concerned go for action against illegal transportation of goods.

As per the order different departments have been entrusted with the task of taking actions against illegal transportation of different types of goods. For example, in case of illegal transportation of coal, the Finance (Taxation) department will conduct regular drives to check whether vehicles carrying coal have valid GST paper/e-way bill etc. The Transport department will take action against overloaded trucks carrying coal.

The Environment & Forest department will take action to prevent illegal transportation of sand, stone, silt and earth. While the Excise department will crack down on illegal transportation of liquor, the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary department and police will stop illegal transportation of cattle and livestock.

“The departments concerned shall take necessary steps under relevant rules and regulations to detect other violations and take necessary legal action. Intimation for checking drive has to be made by departments concerned and the police would only assist the departments in performing their duties. The departments concerned shall prepare action plans for conducting enforcement drives and shall put in place a robust mechanism to periodically review the performance of their district officials and progress achieved in such drives carried out in the field,” the Home & Political department stated in its order.

The syndicate raj, a veritable deep-rooted extortion racket literally running various flourishing business, has resulted in several socio-economic ills, including skyrocketing prices of essential commodities in Assam. The common people are always at the receiving end of various syndicates allegedly backed by political masters. But the big question remains: will the November 1 order be backed by political masters for its successful execution?

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