International Road Safety Experts Point out Deficiencies in Issuance of Fitness Certificates to Vehicles in Haryana

By Samachar Digital

Chandigarh, Oct.26, 2021:- Dr. Kamal Soi, International Road Safety Expert, who is also a member of National Road Safety Council, today pointed out the shortcomings in implementing the statutory rule regarding issuance of fitness certificates of vehicles. be exposed. According to him, these deficiencies have created hurdles in the effective implementation of Section 56 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1998.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said, as per an order dated June 23, 2021 issued by the Transport Commissioner, Haryana has directed all the DTOs and RTAs across the state to verify the fitness of the vehicles to the dealers of the OEMs. Authorize to operate as 'Authorized Testing Stations' for carrying out tests. Each authorized testing station shall be able to test the vehicles according to the year of manufacture of the vehicles that the dealer sells as an authorized dealer.

The Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019, mandates that 'fitness testing' of all commercial vehicles is to be done through Automated Vehicle I&C Centres. The 'date' for the implementation of this provision of the Act is to be announced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Both MORTH Draft Notification dated 8th April, 2021 and MORTH Final Notification dated 23rd September, 2021 it clearly states the following:

Conflict of interest (a situation in which the decision of a government official is influenced by his personal interest)

1) There shall be no conflict of interest in the course of operation that arises or may arise due to the financial or commercial interest of the operator of an automated testing station and their obligations under these Terms.

Explanation - For the purposes of this rule, financial or commercial interest means any personal, financial or other cause which is likely to affect or compromise the professional behavior of an operator of an automated testing station.

2) The Automated Testing Station shall act as a testing facility only and shall not provide any service relating to repair of vehicles or sale or manufacture of auto parts.

3) Testing Officers will be required to maintain strict confidentiality of information regarding test results relating to vehicle make and type.

4) The operator of an Automated Testing Station shall, at all times, act in a transparent and fair manner and shall sign an undertaking in respect of the provisions of sub-rules (1), (2) and (3) specified in Form 60. .

Dr. Soi said that in spite of these changes in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), the Transport Department has gone ahead and authorized various dealers of OEMs like Maruti, Tata, Ashok Leyland, Eicher etc. to conduct fitness tests of the vehicles and obtain the Certificate of Fitness (Certificate of Fitness) of these vehicles. About 30 to 35 authority letters have also been issued for issuance of certificates.

Further, these dealers have been provided vehicle access to access the details of the vehicles as well as upload the fitness certificates issued to the vehicles, he added. These dealers do not have the required testing equipment prescribed in the CMVR and have started issuing fitness certificates to those vehicles which are in complete violation of the laws made by the Government of India. A major issue is that this entire scheme has been implemented by the Haryana Transport Department and in the process it is possible that there is a complete violation of CMVR Rule No 176 'Conflict of Interest'.

He said that he had written to the Transport Minister, Haryana and Transport Commissioner Haryana on 30th September, 2021 and brought to their notice the matter of violation of both the MoRTH notifications of April and September 2021.

As an international road safety expert, my main concern at present is that unsuitable motor vehicle plying on the roads is one of the major causes of road accidents in recent times. A very serious concern for road safety as it will endanger the lives of common public by allowing uncompromised vehicles to ply on the roads of our beloved country.

It is necessary to ensure that the implementation and execution of this policy in respect of fitness centers is controlled through a system of checks and balances to ensure that only fit vehicles ply on the road. I request the Hon'ble Minister to kindly intervene in this matter and order that only correct and equitable system is in vogue for issuing fitness certificates to vehicles and I further request the Minister to inform the dealers of vehicle OEMs. Completely cancel the order and authorization authorizing the issuance of fitness certificates to vehicles.