Pune RTO recovers ₹25L in fines from vehicles illegally ferrying kids to school
The flying squad said that action against vehicles lacking fitness certificates will continue as the department wants to make transport safe for school children
The Regional Transport Office (RTO) over a four-month-long sustained drive recovered ₹25 lakh in fines from various school- vans and buses found ferrying school children without renewing their fitness certificates. The action comes in the wake of the RTO survey finding that half the vehicles plying school children have not renewed their fitness certificates which is mandatory as per the guidelines.
Two months have passed since schools reopened and a dedicated window has been provided for those seeking renewal of their fitness certificates on Sunday, however most vehicle owners have not shown interest in completing the process. This has prompted a fresh crackdown on such school- buses and vans ferrying school children without fitness certificates. The data released by the RTO reveals that there are 6,051 school- buses and vans in the city that ferry about 4 lakh students on a daily basis.
The flying squad of the RTO checked 256 school- buses and vans and recovered ₹8.68 lakh from 63 out of these found operating without valid fitness certificates. In the second phase, the squad checked 292 vehicles and recovered ₹9.89 from 96 out of these found violating the law. Also, ₹6.36 lakh was recovered from 236 out of the 716 auto-rickshaws found ferrying students illegally.
The flying squad said that action against vehicles lacking fitness certificates will continue as the department wants to make transport safe for school children. As per the rules of the Motor Vehicles Act 1989, registration of a vehicle is considered valid only if it has a fitness certificate. A Pune RTO official said that it is mandatory for school bus owners to get fitness certificates from the RTO.
As per the rules, small buses (light motor vehicles) and large buses (heavy motor vehicles) are charged fees of ₹600 and ₹800, respectively, for fitness certificates. At the time of applying for a fitness certificate, bus owners also need to pay annual tax, which is ₹100 per seat and varies as per seating capacity. A fine of ₹4,000 is levied for violation, among other fines.