Samruddhi Expressway accident: Vehicle's records throw up a tale of unexplained procedural delay

The private bus that met an accident on Maharashtras Samruddhi Expressway in which 25 passengers were charred to death was given the fitness certificate nearly 9 months after it was tested for roadworthiness official records showActivists and former regional transport office RTO staffers have termed the inordinate delay between the two processes an ldquoadministrative lapserdquo saying it leaves scope for malpractices Maharashtra has nearly 67000 registered contract carriage buses as per officialsBesides demanding ldquostrict actionrdquo against those behind this delay in this particular case they have also stressed the need for taking ldquoconcrete stepsrdquo to improve the system A fitness certificate is mandatory for all commercial vehiclesThe private sleeper coach bus with registration number MH29 BE 1819 rammed into a pole on the MumbaiNagpur highspeed carriageway in Buldhana district on July 1 before hitting a divider and bursting into flames While 25 passengers were charred to death eight others including the driver and his assistant survivedAs per Amravati RTOs primary report filed on the day of the accident the fitness certificate of the bus registered at Yavatmal RTO in January 2020 was valid up to March 10 2024The commercial vehicles records however throw up a tale of unexplained procedural delayAccording to RTO officials its fitness certificate was approved on November 29 2022 nearly 9 months after it was tested for roadworthiness on March 10 2022An RTO official said that Motor Vehicle Inspector Sachin Nikam made an ldquoentryrdquo filling details on the national vehicle registry Vahan on November 19 and ldquoverifiedrdquo it the same day He ldquoapprovedrdquo the fitness certificate of the vehicle on November 29 2022Also readFadnavis announces probe as former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya comes under opposition fire over videoDeputy RTO Dnyaneshwar Hirde who holds the additional charge of the Yavatmal office did not respond to specific queries about the fitness certificate of the busIn a written reply to queries from PTI about the renewal of fitness certificates of commercial vehicles a transport department spokesperson said that Motor Vehicles Inspectors should approve the fitness certificate within a day or two after a vehicles testing is conducted as per the procedure laid down under rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989Before the bus fitness certificate was renewed the Aurangabad RTO in August 2022 and Nagpur Rural RTO in October 2022 had issued two challans to it for running with an expired fitness certificateRecords show both challans were promptly settled which according to activists raises more questionsldquoIf the bus fitness certificate was valid why did RTOs issue challans to it twice and why would the owner pay such a hefty finerdquo asked VK Duggal a director of NGO 3A Road Safety Foundation Duggal suspects the bus might have been granted fitness without the mandatory testingAs per a directive of the Bombay High Court videography is mandatory while testing a commercial vehicle for the renewal of the fitness certificateThe government should make the video recording of the testing of the illfated bus public said a few activistsAsked about the challan issued to the bus on October 11 2022 for plying with an expired fitness certificate Rajabhau Gite RTO of Amravati also holding additional charge of Nagpur RTO said that the fitness of the bus was not valid on that dayldquoThe bus was inspected in March 2022 but the tax was pending at that time So the certificate of fitness was not valid in October 2022 when the challan was issued Verification and approval were done by the inspector in November 2022rdquo Gite repliedHowever an RTO inspector called this a ldquogreyrdquo areaA retired transport department official who did not wish to be named said that the bus fitness should have been ideally approved the same day or within a couple of days after testing was doneldquoIt was a sheer administrative lapserdquo said the retired official adding that the responsibility for the delay in giving the fitness certificate lies with the inspector concernedPune resident Shrikant Karve whose PIL in the high court a few years ago had led to the introduction of many elements to the vehicle certification processes in Maharashtra said that in some RTO offices fitness certificates are being issued to buses without following the HC guidelinesldquoThis case has highlighted that the transport commissioners office also failed to supervise and keep a check on the fitness approval processrdquo Karve said adding that the government should take strict action against those responsible in this caseNotably the bus was issued a new pollution under control certificate from a Yavatmalbased PUC centre about nine hours after it was gutted in the fire The transport department has taken action against the PUC centreAs per rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 fitness certificates are mandatory for all commercial vehicles ldquotrucks tempos taxis auto rickshaws buses and trailersrdquo fitted with yellow number platesMotor Vehicle Inspectors at RTO offices carry out a physical inspection of vehicles and drive them to test their roadworthiness before issuing the fitness certificate which is valid for a year for old transport vehicles up to 8 years of age and two years for new ones PTI