Laterite stone truckers fear loan default amid supply crunch
Most trucks were bought with bank loans, and owners now fear loan defaults and vehicle seizure.
Ravi Rai Pajeer, a truck owner, said that hundreds of truck owners and workers will become paupers if the crisis continues. "The majority of the truck owners bought the vehicles availing loans from private finance companies. After working for many years in the laterite stone quarries, they bought trucks availing loans to the tune of Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh for each vehicle.
They must pay an average of more than Rs 35,000 per year as insurance for the truck, in addition to road tax of about Rs 3,000 for every three months.
Since the laterite quarrying has been completely stopped, trucks are remaining idle in sheds, and this leads to damages to the battery, tyres, and other spare parts," he said.
While finance companies charge nearly 15% interest on loans, many have not paid loans in the past two months.
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The finance company will seize the trucks after three months of loan default, he said. At least five to six labourers depend on one laterite stone truck for their livelihood. They have already started expressing their helplessness to keep the pot boiling in their homes and to pay school fees for their children, he added.
Sathish Acharya, president of the Federation of Laterite Stone Quarry Owners, said that the district has more than 1,000 trucks that were transporting laterite stones.
"Sand supply has stopped completely in Dakshina Kannada, and there is no transportation from Kerala too. Though there is a huge demand in the district, supply has been stopped, affecting hundreds of families dependent on it," he said.
Stating that the increased royalty of Rs 282 per ton of laterite stone in Karnataka is a major issue. In Kerala, the royalty for each ton is just Rs 32. A truck owner must pay Rs 2,820 to transport 10 tons of stones.
As many as 257 individuals obtained 3A permits to quarry laterite stones in the district two years ago. At present, only about four persons have the permits, and the process of fresh permit issue was stopped about six months ago, he said.
"We demand the govt to reduce the royalty and relax rules to allow laterite stone quarrying legally. Stakeholders in the construction industry have been discussing launching a series of protests and dharna if the govt fails to solve the crisis," he said, adding that there is no relief even after the issue was discussed at a meeting chaired by district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and assembly speaker UT Khader in Bengaluru.
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