Draft Report of the High Level Group on Services Sector

3.3 Road Transport

A large number of foreign and domestic tourists use dedicated tourist vehicles mainly buses for visiting tourist destinations and the private sector has made large investments in these vehicles. The road and passenger tax regimes of the State Governments increase the cost of travel but more importantly they are a source of harassment to the tourists because of the manner of their implementation. Some States charge taxes on a quarterly basis, some per day and others on a per seat basis, which could be in addition to the quarterly charges. The buses carrying tourists have to stop at the borders for long periods every trip as the papers are checked and taxes collected where necessary. Even if the quarterly or daily taxes have been paid there is no respite from standing in the queue along with other such vehicles and trucks. The problem is exacerbated by the limited and over worked staff.
In order to save the tourist vehicle operators and the tourists from harassment the Group recommends that by an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act the tourist buses may be given a distinct number plate. Taxes should be chargeable on a quarterly or six-monthly basis and it should be made possible for the buses to enter a State just by swiping a smart card showing that taxes have been paid. In order to make this workable swiping facilities should be provided at all points on inter state borders. The Group is also of the view that is strong case for abolishing per seat passenger tax on the same logic as most States have abolished octroi.
Road connectivity is crucial for the development of tourism. While the entire network of National Highways and State Highways has to be maintained in good condition for the development of the economy it is important that all current and proposed World Heritage sites and other tourist destinations are connected to airports and/railway stations with single/double/four-lane roads (depending on the traffic intensity) and maintained in good condition with adequate allocation of funds for repair and maintenance. A monitoring system should be created to ensure that the roads leading to important tourist destinations are kept in good condition. For this purpose associations of tourist bus operators could be asked to post information on the website of the Ministry of Tourism about any deterioration in the condition of National Highways of tourist interest and on the websites of the State Departments of Tourism about the State Highways. On the basis of information received on the website the Ministry of Tourism for National Highways and the State Tourism Department for State Highways should take up the question of repairs and maintenance or even upgradation of the roads with the agencies/authorities concerned (NHAI or State PWD).