E-Paper
Pune RTO puts brakes on illegal motor driving schools
As many as 900 illegal driving schools are operational in the city, especially the suburbs, the complaint stated
The Pune regional transport officer (RTO) has issued an order for strict action against illegal driving schools functioning in the city after the State Transport Department issued a Government Resolutions (GR) direction for stringent action against the violators. The decision comes in the wake of several complaints about illegal driving schools operational in different areas of the city to the state transport ministry. As many as 900 illegal driving schools are operational in the city, especially the suburbs, the complaint stated.
According to the RTO authorities, only 450 of them are bonafide, legal, and have been given accreditation. However, the authorities have also found that the driving schools were operational at different places rather than places where their official addresses were located.
State transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar in his order stated, “It has been observed that vehicles other than the vehicles which were registered by the driving schools at the time of registration are being used for driving school training practice. It is imperative to check the illegal driving schools across all the districts and strict action must be taken and a compliance report be submitted to the transport department.”
Reacting to the development, Pune regional transport officer Sanjeev Bhor said, “As per the directions of the transport department, we have initiated action against the illegal driving schools and a special squad has been instituted.”
Mahek Suryavanshi, who runs a licensed school said, “We have specially modified vehicles for training purposes. The authorised driving school operators follow all the guidelines issued by the RTO from time to time. But the illegal driving school operators do not follow rules, keep their fees low, and endanger the lives of citizens by substandard and lack of adequate training,” he alleged.
