BHUBANESWAR: The Transport department has now eyes at toll plazas against vehicles operating without valid fitness certificate after data collected through the e-Detection portal revealed widespread and deliberate disregard for Motor Vehicles (MV) Rules in the state.
Between April and June, the e-Detection system captured thousands of vehicles at various toll plazas across the state that were travelling without valid fitness certificates, exposing a massive scale of non-compliance and a serious risk to public safety.
In the last three months, a total of 43,696 e-challans were issued against 11,401 vehicles. Interestingly, 6,635 of these vehicles were identified as repeat offenders, accounting for 38,930 of the total detection.
The data further revealed that 2,191 vehicles were flagged five or more times, 960 vehicles were caught 10 or more times and 37 violators crossed toll gates more than 50 times without a fitness certificate. The worst individual offenders were found to have violated the rules up to 82, 80, 79, 76, and 75 times without ever renewing their fitness certificates.
The violations were noticed across 31 toll plazas in Odisha, with the highest concentration of offenses recorded at Bandalo (Manguli) toll plaza with 5,281 detections, followed closely by Pipili with 4,816 and Sergarh 3,769. The other toll plazas where fitness certificate violations were detected are Gudipada/Gangapada, Sambalpur-Bargarh, Bhagada Narayanpur, Kandara, Gurapalli, Karapadu and Darjing.
Till now, there was no enforcement against fitness certificates at toll plazas which scan vehicles for Fastag. However, now vehicle owners will have to fall in line or pay up. In a letter to all regional transport officers/additional regional transport officers recently,Transport commissioner-cum-chairman of State Transport Authority (STA) Amitabh Thakur directed to issue notices to owners plying without valid fitness certificate, intercept such vehicles at toll plazas and seize them, and suspend/cancel the registration certificate of the violators.
He instructed the RTOs to carry out the enforcement based on the severity of the offenses. Category-I violators, which include vehicles detected 10 or more times, will face immediate notices and field enforcement within seven days. Similarly, category-II offenders comprising those who are caught between five to nine times, will be targeted within 15 days. Category-III vehicles are those which have violated the norms two to four times. They will be placed on a watch-list with actions completed within 30 days.
RTOs in coordination with local police, highway patrolling units and NHAI toll authorities have launched special on-the-ground interception drives at high-risk toll plazas using physical lists of the repeated violators.
Thakur further warned that in case any flagged vehicle is found operating, it will be immediately seized under section 207 of the Motor Vehicle Act. “The seized vehicle will not be released simply upon paying the outstanding fines. The owners must produce valid fitness certificates, registration documents, active permits, insurance and updated tax payments before their vehicles are allowed to ply on the road,” he stressed.