Vehicle fitness imperative for passenger safety: Transport Secretary

Jammu, Dec 30: Secretary, Transport, Prasanna Ramaswamy G, Saturday conducted a comprehensive inspection at the fitness site in Khanpur, Nagrota.
The visit aimed to assess the process of granting fitness certificates to vehicles and ensure adherence to safety standards.
The Secretary was accompanied by his team, including Additional Secretary, Raj Mohammad Malik and Under Secretary, Manik Singh Rathore.
During the inspection, Transport Secretary observed certain irregularities in conduct of vehicle fitness checks. He noticed that most of the parameters that should be checked to ascertain the fitness of a vehicle require the inspector to get the vehicle driven for at least 6-7 minutes. He emphasized the need for a thorough and yet practical SOP to ensure the safety of vehicles on the road.
Secretary exhorted upon the concerned authorities to ensure thorough inspection of mechanical issues, emission and technical faults besides overall working conditions of the vehicle. This will ensure there are no harmful byproducts released into the air to pollute the environment along with avoiding road accidents due to mechanical breakdown as fitness certificates to vehicles are being issued to guarantee on-road safety and environmental protection, he added.
Secretary directed the concerned authorities to initiate immediate corrective measures, emphasizing the importance of a rigorous and thorough evaluation of vehicles during fitness inspections. He underscored that the safety of commuters depends on the effectiveness of such examinations.
RTO Jammu, ARTO Headquarters, and both the ARTOs of Board of Inspection were also present there along with the team of MVIs.