The government has barred local authorities from issuing route permits to public vehicles and has made its mandatory for all transport operators to acquire the permits from the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), according to the Home Ministry.

Besides the DoTM, district-level transport management committees led by the Chief District Officer also currently issue the permits to public vehicles for roads constructed at the local level.

The government’s decision follows a bus accident in Kavrepalanchok on Aug 15, in which more than two dozen people were killed and several others were injured. The ill-fated overcrowded bus was reported to have taken the road permit only up to the Araniko Highway. But the local authority had granted the bus a permit to ply on the road beyond the highway, according to DoTM Director Achyut Regmi. Home Ministry Spokesperson Yadav Kumar Koirala said the government came up with the new provision considering the risks the vehicles operating on the local roads pose to the passengers. “This new provision is applicable across the country,” he said.

As per the DoTM, there are an estimated 40,000km roads constructed at the local level. “However, all such roads do not meet the standards and are of poor quality, increasing the chances of accidents,” said Regmi.

Also, the vehicles operating with permits issued by the local authorities are usually not insured. “As insurance companies do not sell their policies to vehicles not having route permits, the passengers do not get compensation in case of injury or death,” Regmi said.