“Later, MoRTH came out with a draft notification that the permit can be given with zero fee after several states raised apprehension,” said a senior official of the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety, noting that the State had nationalised bus transport in 1973 and very few buses are operated as private stage carriages.

Explaining the concerns, the official said in the absence of permits, anyone could operate a battery-operated vehicle as a stage carriage and the government would not be able to regulate.

“We have sent a proposal on ‘zero cost permit’ to the State government. As soon as the approval comes, we will start registering commercial transport vehicles,” the official added.

An RTO said the permits issued to transport vehicles come with a set of conditions that varies for each category of vehicle. “For autorickshaws, the vehicle owners should operate them within a district in a radius of 30 km from the residence of the permit holder. For stage carriages permit for buses, the vehicle should be operated only on a particular route. Hence, the permit condition is important to regulate vehicle operation,” the official added.