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47 school buses fail to turn up for fitness tests, RTO suspends registrations
The regional transport department has suspended the registration of 47 school buses after they did not turn up for fitness checks despite them being served with
The regional transport department has suspended the registration of 47 school buses after they did not turn up for fitness checks despite them being served with notices, intimating them about the exercise, last November. The officials said only 16 of the 63 school buses served notices last year have turned up for checks so far.
During the fitness tests, vehicles are checked for proper functioning of brakes, steering, speed governers, fire extinguishers, and the colour of the vehicle (yellow in case of school buses). The validity of documents is also checked. The Supreme Court, in 1997, had rolled out mandatory guidelines to be followed by vehicles ferrying schoolchildren.
“The department had issued notices to 63 school buses last November in order to get their fitness tests completed. But only 16 buses turned up for tests. So, we have suspended the registration of 47 school buses. If they do not turn up within six months, their registrations will be cancelled,” Vishwajeet Pratap Singh, additional regional transport officer, said.
“The school buses have to comply with a 25-point checklist as directed by the Supreme Court for taking up fitness certificates. The district magistrate has also directed the formation of six teams to check illegally plying school buses. Such vehicles will be seized,” he said.
According to official records, the district has 1,500 school buses registered with the regional transport department.
The department, last September, had also issued notices and suspended registrations of 81,773 diesel and petrol vehicles in compliance with a July 2016 direction of the National Green Tribunal, banning the plying of petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years.
“The registrations of such vehicles will be cancelled at the end of six months period in March. As per our estimates, only about 1,500 vehicles have so far come to take a NOC (no-objection certificate) and move out of the NCR,” the ARTO said.
