Cuttack, April 18: The Orissa State Transport Authority (OSTA) is wary of overloading trucks with most of those operating in the state committing the crime despite an increased effort to curb the illegal practice.

Nearly 34,000 cases of overloading by trucks carrying minerals were identified since April 2008, an official said.

Overloading, according to conservative estimates, is causing an annual loss of Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore to the state exchequer.

An official survey hinted mining areas, port areas, industries, quarry areas, crusher plant sites and sponge iron factories as “overload-prone areas”.

Minerals, building materials, agricultural products and oil tanks are main goods in overloaded trucks plying on roads leading to Paradip.

The authority issued a circular, directing enforcement officers to strictly enforce Section 114 (1) and (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act after detecting an overloaded vehicle and book vehicles under Section 194 and issue notice to the driver/owner to offload excess load at his own risk before leaving the place.

But it had failed to yield the desired result, leaving the transport authorities in a quandary over checking excess loading by truck operators, companies, factories and transport corporations. “The apparent involvement of officers concerned is a prime reason,” admitted a senior OSTA official.

Though the authority introduced electro-mechanical weighbridges on national highways but they are restricted to less than 15 locations.

The Orissa Truck Owners’ Association, however, said “excess loading is done mostly by fleet operators”.

“With the enforcement officials as facilitators, transport agents and brokers are other players in this thriving illegal practice,” an association member alleged.