By Tricitynews Reporter
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.
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