Pune: The Union transport ministry has granted permission to state govt to resume manual fitness tests of vehicles until Oct this year, Pune MP and MoS for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said on Saturday.Earlier, the ministry had mandated that vehicle fitness tests could only be conducted at Automated Testing Stations (ATS). However, with many RTOs in Maharashtra, including Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, lacking the required infrastructure, fitness tests for hundreds of vehicles had been stalled for nearly two months. This led to concerns among transporters and transport associations. Transporters in Pune said the situation had left many vehicles stranded, while others were forced to travel long distances to obtain fitness certificates.“The Union ministry of road transport has granted an extension for the vehicle renewal process until Oct. Due to the new rule, the renewal process for approximately 1.5 million commercial vehicles across 11 major RTO regions in the state had come to a complete standstill. We met Union minister Nitin Gadkari, informed him about the issue, and he understood the situation and granted the extension,” Mohol said.Sources said at the Pune RTO, the ATS facility at Dive Ghat is still under construction and has not been completed despite earlier assurances. Officials indicated that the work is likely to be completed within the next month. Another ATS facility is also being developed at the Alandi Road RTO.Transporters welcomed the move.“It is important that all RTOs, including Pune, expedite the completion of ATS facilities. State govt must ensure this. Transporters should not have to face such disruptions repeatedly,” said Baba Shinde, president of the Maharashtra State Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangh.
