10 centres to be set up to test roadworthiness of vehicles

The Union road transport and highways ministry is planning to set up inspection and maintenance centres for vehicles across categories to check their road-worthiness.

To begin with, ten such centres will be set up across the country on a pilot basis.

In another move aimed at giving a facelift to the transport sector, the ministry will also use information technology-enabled services (ITeS) for vehicle tracking and monitoring.

“One centre each will be set up in ten states on a pilot basis. These centres will serve as technical centres for deciding the roadworthiness of transport vehicles after evaluation. The parameters for evaluation will be identified in a scientific manner,” said an official close to the development. All vehicles, passenger as well as transport will have to undergo the test.

The ministry has asked Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, National Capital Region, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh to send their proposals.

Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have already sent their proposals, which are being examined by the ministry.

Additionally, one more centre at Chhindwara - transport minister Kamal Nath’s constituency— has also been sanctioned.

The process of land acquisition is already over and setting up of the centre has already been initiated. An amount of Rs2.55 crore has been released to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers to set up the Chhindwara centre.

Aiming at instilling efficiency in the public transport sector, the government will also assist states in introduction of GPS/GSM-based vehicle-tracking system, electronic ticket vending machines, and automatic fare collection system, among others.

“Implementation of IT projects would enable the state transport undertakings to improve their operational efficiency by greater surveillance to maintain route discipline and check revenue leakages,” said the official.

The total contribution of the Central government for these projects would be around Rs30 crore, which would be released in a phased manner based on the progress of implementation of the project.