NRSC member urges government to restructure vehicle testing ecosystem

National Road Safety Council member Kamal Soi on Tuesday urged the Transport Ministry to review the Vehicle Testing ecosystem in line with the notification on automation of vehicle inspection centers issued in 2021.

Soi, who is also the chairman of the Raahat Foundation, which focuses on road safety, said at a press conference that the vehicle testing centre industry has become a multi-billion-dollar corruption industry that has led to unchecked deaths on roads due to unfit vehicles.

To expose the widespread unfair practices, he said Raahat Foundation conducted a pilot study in several states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Rajasthan among others.

According to the pilot study, commercial and transport vehicles are being issued certificates of roadworthiness (vehicles with major defects) without physical inspection of the vehicle.

Illegal issuance of fitness certificates to unfit vehicles is leading to such vehicles being plying on public roads, which is one of the major causes of death of young workers in India, causing colossal loss to the Indian economy, the study said.

He also alleged that fitness centres are issuing fitness certificates through locally known RTO agents, with active connivance and involvement of local RTO office in payment of additional charges.