Minister for Road Transport and Bridges Sheikh Rabiul Alam has said that money collected from vehicles on the roads should not be termed extortion if it is taken through mutual understanding.
He made the remarks at a press briefing at his office at the secretariat on Thursday.
“If money is collected from various transports on the roads based on mutual understanding, that is not extortion. However, if someone is compelled to pay, then it is extortion, he added.
When anyone attempts to engage in extortion in the real sense, there is no opportunity for that,” he said.
Responding to a question, the minister stated that what is often described as toll collection from road transport operators should not be viewed as extortion.
“There are owners’ associations and workers’ associations, and they spend the money for their welfare. It functions like an unwritten rule,” he added.
Rabiul Alam said that owners’ associations collect funds at a fixed rate with the aim of spending the money on the welfare of their members, though questions remain about how much of the funds are ultimately used for that purpose.“These activities are carried out on the basis of mutual understanding,” he said.
The minister added that several organizations, including the Workers’ Welfare Federation, also collect funds through similar arrangements. “These collections are made by consensus. In many cases, influence comes into play — whether from owners or political parties. The labour wing affiliated with the party in power often holds dominance,” he said.
However, he noted that the government does not have the scope to categorize such collections as extortion, as they are conducted on the basis of mutual agreement.