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Display fitness certificate on vehicles with date highlighted: Haryana assembly panel
Audit found school buses in Kurukshetra and Kaithal ferrying students without renewal of fitness certificates, compromising the safety of children.
Following a 2022 comptroller and auditor general (CAG) audit report pointing out lapses pertaining to the renewal of fitness certificate of transport vehicles, including plying of 29 buses of educational institutions in Kurukshetra and Kaithal despite expiry of their fitness certificates years ago, the committee on public accounts of the Haryana assembly has recommended that fitness certificate of transport vehicles be displayed on vehicles with highlighted valid date. The CAG had said that plying of buses without valid fitness certificates compromised the safety of schoolchildren.
The committee, which tabled its 88th report during the recent monsoon session, examined the CAG report on performance audit of the functioning of the Haryana transport department.
The CAG report said that 29 buses of educational institutions in the jurisdiction of Kurukshetra and Kaithal regional transport authorities (RTAs) were active though their fitness certificates had expired 12 to 42 months earlier. “These vehicles were being utilised by the educational institutions to ferry school and college going children. Operating these vehicles in the absence of the fitness certificate compromised the safety of school and college children,” the audit said. The RTAs said that notices would be issued to the vehicle owners concerned.
Renewal of certificates
The CAG said that according to Section 56 of the Motor Vehicle Act, it is mandatory for a transport vehicle to carry a certificate of fitness for using the vehicle in public place. Checks to be exercised before issuing a fitness certificate are given under Rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. If the prescribed authority is satisfied that the vehicle no longer complies with the requirements of the Act, they may cancel the fitness certificate at any time with the reasons recorded in writing. On the date of such cancellation, the certificate of registration of the vehicle is deemed to be suspended till the new certificate of fitness is obtained, the CAG said.
School bus checking
The audit said that scrutiny of information, as available on VAHAN web platform, relating to fitness of 2,110 transport vehicles in the selected RTAs of Haryana showed that in the seven RTAs of Yamunanagar, Faridabad, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panchkula and Gurugram, the fitness certificates of 753 vehicles had expired between May 2015 and March 2020. “However, the owners did not turn up for the renewal of the fitness certificates of their vehicles. The money value implication due to the non-renewal of fitness certificates was ₹3.93 crore as on March 31, 2021, including fee and penalty,” the audit said.
The transport department, in a written reply, said that of the ₹393 lakh, a sum of ₹3.89 lakh has been recovered, while ₹131 lakh were found not due, the audit report said.
“The operation of 29 buses of educational institutes in Kurukshetra and Kaithal even after the expiry of their fitness certificates is being examined,” the transport department said in its reply.
