New Delhi, February 29: In what highlights rampant corruption in traffic police and transport departments, a study concluded that truck drivers and fleet owners pay Rs 48,000 crore annually as bribes to cops and other officials. The study, conducted by NGO SavLife Foundation, also revealed that local groups such as "puja samiti" extort money from truck drivers before allowing them to cross informal checkpoints, Times of India reported. Naidu Urges Youth to Take Lead in Fighting Corruption, Terrorism, Religious Fundamentalism, Casteism.

A whopping 82 percent of respondents admitted to having bribed "officials of one or the other department on the road" during their last trip. Among the select transport hubs, Guwahati had the worst indicator where 97.5 percent of drivers claimed that they had paid bribes. The percentage was 89 in Chennai. The conclusions were based on interviews of 1,217 truck drivers and 110 fleet owners conducted by the non-profit organisation. Assam Police Arrest Prime Accused in Corruption Case.

A truck driver pays Rs 1,257 as bribe per trip, the study found. The report also shows that on an average a driver paid Rs 1,789 for renewal of licence. In Mumbai, 93 percent of the respondents admitted to having paid bribes for renewal of their driving licence. The percentage was 83 in Guwahati and 78 percent in Delhi-NRC. Similarly, 43 percent of the fleet owners claimed to have paid bribes to the transport department for registration of their vehicles.

According to Minister of State for Road Transport V K Singh, every truck driver showed a currency note through the window at check-posts set up to count the number of vehicles for assessment. This shows how paying bribes has become synonymous with the trucking business, Singh pointed out.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 29, 2020 12:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).