Kolkata: The Transport department has decided to set up a dozen modernised automated testing stations (ATS) across the state equipped for conducting all sorts of mechanical and pollution tests of vehicles.
Fitness certificates will be issued to a particular vehicle only after clearing the tests at these stations.
“The administrative approval for soil testing at the proposed sites of the automated testing centres has been received and the preparation of DPR is afoot,” said a Transport department official.
The districts earmarked for these ATSs include Murshidabad, Purulia, Hooghly, North 24-Parganas, West Midnapore, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Malda and Darjeeling. Presently, there is no such ATS in the state. The motor vehicle technical officer (MVTO) in respective districts perform vehicle fitness tests by examining the same with the naked eye. Hence, questions are often raised about the health of a vehicle, particularly when it meets with an accident. In the existing system, apart from human error on the part of MVTO, allegations of biased approach against the MVTO often crop up. The Transport department receives complaints of influential people getting their vehicles’ fitness certificate by offering bribes.
There are 57 places across Bengal where manual testing of vehicles are done. The vehicles registered in the 12 districts where the proposed ATSs will come up have to mandatorily do their testing in their respective district. The vehicles in other districts will have to do the needful from the nearest district.
The ATS will flag deficiency in a vehicle so that the owner can take necessary action to make it fit for roads.
“This will ensure transparency in issuance of fitness certificates and will eliminate accidents resulting from mechanical faults in vehicles,” the official said.