The Maharashtra Transport Department has approved the construction of eight more Automated Driving Test Tracks in the state, taking the total number of RTO offices with such facilities to 46.
The new tracks will be constructed at Kalyan, Vasai-Virar, Malegaon, Dhule, Gondia, Satara, Ratnagiri and Karad at an estimated cost of INR 86 crore. The Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) has been appointed as the consultant for the project. The contractors will also be selected through them.
This expansion is part of the tender for 38 ADTTs floated in May last year, which was approved on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model of INR 166.69 crore. In this model, the contractors will operate the tracks for 5 years and then hand over to the respective RTOs.
The initial estimate for the eight new tracks was INR 77.29 crore. However, it increased by about 8 crores due to GST and IT infrastructure expenditure. The revised proposal has now been approved and the actual work will start soon.
With these Automated Driving Test Tracks, the driving test will be completely technology-based. There will be a complete video recording of each test and with the help of video analytics, mistakes like crossing the stop line, missing the signal or unsafe driving will be identified immediately. The pass or fail result will be declared automatically without the intervention of any official.
Apart from this, applicants will get the facility to watch the recording of their test. There will also be an opportunity to object to the result. The problem of fake candidates will also be reduced due to face recognition technology.
Complaints of brokers and corruption in the driving license process were constantly coming up in RTO offices in the state. However, the administration believes that this new system will make the entire process more transparent and evidence-based.
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