Rourkela, June 20: Members of the All Truck and Tipper Association of Sundargarh are locking horns with the state government over the issue of freight rate fixation.

The members are in no mood to listen to the government's plans. Speaking to the media, the association members, drawn from Koira to Sundargarh, declared that they would not accept the unilateral decision of the government to fix the freight price.

Rourkela Tipper Association president Biswaranjan Behuria said: "At the district-level technical committee meeting with the collector, we submitted our rate, which was Rs 7.50 per tonne per kilometre. It is not possible for us to reduce it."

Sources said the government was planning to fix the rate at Rs 5.70 per unit. When asked whether there was any chance of negotiation, Behuria said: "In that case, the government has to take care of all other sundry payments."

Most of the association members complained about many issues such as challan payment, loading and unloading cess, bribes to police personnel on various routes and others. Behuria further said: "Following the government's decision, the price of local freights at the Rungta mines have been slashed from Rs 495 to Rs 420, unilaterally. The truckers were threatened to either follow it or quit their jobs."

He said transportation at Koira had stopped. "When the government is not fixing the rate of iron ore while raising it, why is it harassing us?" asked Bijaya Pradhan, former general secretary of the Rourkela Truck Owners' Association.

Sundargarh Truck Owner's Association secretary Sanjay Nayak said: "Why is this move being confined to only five districts, when minor minerals, including sand and chips, are being transported from other districts as well?"

Nayak said a large number of vehicles involved in transportation were from Chhattisgarh and this continued to affect the local trade. "This is ruining business for the local transporters," he said.

Another member of the association said that since the government was hell-bent on its decision, on June 21, members of the state transport federation would meet in Angul to reach a final decision. "If the government fails to understand our problem and goes ahead with its decision, we will be left with no alternative but to withdraw our vehicles," Nayak said.