Almost 60% of school vans and buses in the state are plying illegally without proper permits or safety checks, revealed Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik in the Assembly this week.
Out of an estimated 1 lakh school transport vehicles in Maharashtra, 60,000 are unauthorised, without proper licenses or safety checks, raising widespread concerns about the safety of students.
As per the law, school vehicles must have a valid registration certificate, fitness certificate, insurance, PUC, first aid kit, fire extinguisher and trained female attendant. However, most of the illegal vans violate all these requirements.
In Mumbai alone, the number of such unauthorised school vans has reached 15,000, but no systematic action seems to be being taken against them. Last year, only 7,206 vehicles were fined across the state, out of which INR 4.92 crore was recovered, the administration says. The count of regulation-compliant school buses reduced to 6000-8000 in recent years.
School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) president Anil Garg has slammed the government for failing to implement the long-promised comprehensive school transport policy.
He expressed serious concerns about how illegal vans ply with white number plates, are often overloaded, without women attendants and without basic safety measures.
Despite sending over 40 formal letters to authorities including the RTO, transport department and home ministry, no significant action has been taken.
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