National Road Safety Council member Kamal Soi on Tuesday urged the transport ministry to rehaul the vehicle testing ecosystem in line with the notification on automation of vehicle testing centres issued in 2021.
Soi, who is also Chairman of Raahat Foundation, which focuses on road safety, in a press conference, alleged that the vehicle testing centres industry has ballooned into a multi-billion dollar corruption industry that has led to unchecked deaths on the roads due to unfit vehicles.
To expose the rampant unfair practices, he said the Raahat Foundation undertook a pilot study across multiple states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, among others.
According to the pilot study, both commercial and transport vehicles are being issued fitness certificates to unfit/non-roadworthy vehicles (vehicles with major defects) without physical inspection of the vehicle.
Illegal grant of fitness certificates to unfit/non-roadworthy vehicles is resulting in such vehicles plying on public roads, which is one of the major contributors to deaths of young working persons in India, causing colossal loss to the Indian Economy, the study noted.
It also alleged that fitness centres are granting fitness certificates through locally known RTO agents, in active connivance and involvement of local RTO office on payment of extra charges.