The State Transport Appellate Tribunal has upheld the Punjab Government’s decision cancelling the illegal clubbing of multiple distinct bus routes or permits into single one, an order likely to affect several prominent political leaders owning transport companies.Under the practice, big transporters used to purchase permits of smaller players to extend their routes beyond allowed limits.After this, they used to run multiple buses on the clubbed route, creating an unfair advantage over their rivals. The tribunal order came on a transporters’ appeal challenging the Transport Department’s decision.Earlier, they had approached the High Court, which had asked them to approach the tribunal for the resolution of their grievance.The order is likely to affect over 700 illegal clubbed permits, allegedly got extended by big players with the connivance of officials in the Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) in violation of the rules. While deciding the case of Banda Bahadur Highways Pvt Ltd, Patiala, the tribunal observed that a bus route permit between two stations could not be extended to make it one permit. It also observed that two different bus permits having two distinct routes with one common destination could not be clubbed.Meanwhile, officials in the Transport Department said the effectiveness of the tribunal orders would depend on their timely integration into the official bus timetables.‘Nexus between officials, transporters runs deep’JS Grewal, president of the Small Scale Bus Operators’ Association, said, “The nexus between the RTAs and the powerful transporters ran deep in the department.”“As per rules, such permits should be cancelled. The department should implement the order and prepare fresh time tables,” he added.Last year, the State Transport Commissioner (STC) and the RTAs in Patiala, Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Bathinda had ordered the cancellation of the unauthorised extensions, following appeals against show-cause notices served on transporters. Citing Sections 69 and 80(3) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the department has directed all RTAs to de-club the permits illegally bundled.