LUCKNOW, Oct. 9 -- The Centre has categorically clarified that only Form C permits issued by the Embassy or Consulate of the destination country, in this case Nepal, are valid for cross-border passenger transport between India and Nepal. The clarification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) comes in the wake of a major investigation launched by the UP transport department into the use of forged permits by certain private bus operators at the Indo-Nepal border and the transport commissioner Brajesh Narain Singh having alerted the Centre through a letter in July. In a circular issued on October 3 to the principal secretaries and transport commissioners of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim, the ministry has emphasised that permits issued under Section 88(8) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, apply only to inter-state transport within India and are not valid for international operations. The directive signed by Ankit Dugar, director (MVL), specifically instructs all the concerning states and Union Territories to ensure that no temporary or special permits are issued or validated for international routes. "Strict action against operators found using forged or unauthorised permits must be ensured," it said. Singh's July 15 communication to the ministry reported serious irregularities involving buses plying to Nepal on fake or ultra vires permits. The probe revealed that several private operators had managed to cross the border by presenting documents that appeared authentic but were later found to be either fabricated or illegally issued. "FIRs have already been registered in Aligarh, Baghpat and Maharajganj, where the respective ARTOs certified that the alleged permits were never issued from their offices. Similar violations have been reported from Gorakhpur, Etawah and Auraiyya, with disciplinary proceedings initiated in some cases," he pointed out in the letter. Citing provisions of the India-Nepal Passenger Traffic Agreement, 2014, the then transport commissioner had clarified that any permits issued by RTOs or ARTOs in Forms SR-30 or SR-31 for Nepal-bound operations were invalid. He also drew attention to a technical loophole in the VAHAN 4.0 portal that allowed applicants to enter "Nepal" or "Kathmandu" as destinations in the permit application, bypassing regulatory filters. The commissioner had sought coordination among MEA, MHA and NIC for stricter validation and monitoring mechanisms. Responding to these developments, MoRTH has now asked all states to ensure real-time verification of permits at border points and prevent misuse of domestic transport permissions for international routes. The ministry also reiterated that only Form C permits, issued through the proper diplomatic channel, are recognized under the bilateral transport treaty. "The clarification by the Centre is aimed at preventing both security risks and administrative violations arising from unauthorized cross-border transport activities," a senior transport official said....