Faced with a space crunch, Howrah?s motor vehicles department is chanting the privatisation mantra.

The number of vehicles seized by the department has gone up in recent times, but there is not enough space to house the vehicles. So, the department is in the process of handing the responsibility of the seized vehicles to private custodians.

On Monday, Howrah?s regional transport officer (RTO) Sukumar Das said that advertisements inviting tenders would be published in newspapers by the end of the week.

?We have received a missive from the state transport department, giving the district administration the go-ahead for inviting tenders. The transport department had sent the note through the district magistrate,? Das said.

On an average, the department impounds three to four heavy vehicles a day. Last month, as many as 40 vehicles were seized.

?The police stations don?t want to keep the vehicles. We are keeping them at the Dhulagarh truck terminal now. When a seizure occurs at a distant place, we face a tremendous problem in towing the vehicle to Howrah town,? the RTO added.

The state government has recently decided to allow private participation in looking after impounded vehicles all over the state.

In a gazette notification dated May 18, 2004 (notification no. 1948-WT/3M-116/2003), the government published the draft terms and conditions for the selection of private custodians of vehicles seized under the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1979, West Bengal Additional Tax and the One-time Tax on Motor Vehicle Act, 1989.

In another gazette notification dated March 1, 2005 (notification No. 1246-WT/3M-116/2003), the government confirmed the terms and conditions and asked the district magistrates to take necessary measures to invite private parties to be custodians of the impounded vehicles.

?Our team will inspect the proposed place offered by the private parties. If we are satisfied, we will offer them custody of the seized vehicles,? said Das.

Informal talks are already on with some private parties, he added.

The selection committee for private custodians will be chaired by the district magistrate, the government notification stated.

Besides, officers of the audit and accounts services in the district will also be on the committee. The officers will be nominated by the district magistrate and the RTO.

At the time of tendering applications, an aspiring private custodian will have to pay Rs. 3 lakh to the government as refundable earnest money deposit.