Three years after the Union ministry of road transport and highways approved the city’s first automated inspection and certification (I&C) centre for commercial vehicles that need to be evaluated after their prescribed lifespan of 15 years at Raipur Kalan, the UT administration is all set to complete the project by March-end.
The ministry had in October 2019 approved the project and had set the deadline for completing the project as December last year, but it was delayed due to late release of the funds. Now, the ministry has already released an amount of ₹3 crore for the centre.
The project, which is coming up at around 3.5 acres of land at a cost of ₹13.76 crore in Raipur Kalan, will help to ensure commercial vehicles plying on city roads meet the standard requirements for safe driving and emission parameters.
The centre will check 23 parameters including tyres and indicators with the latest technology. Not only will the road worthiness be tested, focus will also be paid to reducing the pollution from emissions.
State transport authority (STA) secretary Amit Kumar said the centre will be ready by March-end and have machinery for accurate testing with almost no human intervention. “At present, a large number of old and ill-maintained vehicles ply on road, which contributes to the deterioration of air quality,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}State transport authority (STA) secretary Amit Kumar said the centre will be ready by March-end and have machinery for accurate testing with almost no human intervention. “At present, a large number of old and ill-maintained vehicles ply on road, which contributes to the deterioration of air quality,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Another senior official, meanwhile, said, at present registration of non-commercial and commercial vehicles is renewed after conducting a fitness test manually. Once the centre is set up, all commercial goods vehicles, taxis, and public and school buses will have to visit the new facility after the 15-year period and pay an evaluation fee between ₹800 to ₹2,000 per vehicle.
“The centre will help the administration keep a check and ensure the polluting and unworthy vehicles are off the roads,” the official added.
Driving training centre
The Union ministry recently released ₹5 crore to also set up a regional driving training centre (RDTC) at Raipur Kalan.
Being set up on around 4 acres of land, the centre will help improve road safety and serve as a regional hub for training of driving instructors, offering refresher courses, periodic evaluation of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking drivers, and help in assessing aspiring drivers using an innovative driving test system (IDTS).
A senior officer of UT Administration said tenders have also been floated, adding, “We are hopeful that companies will apply for setting up the centre soon.”