Mandatory pollution tests for vehicles can be performed even with pending traffic fines.
The state government has decided to rollback a notification that had made it compulsory to clear all dues, including traffic fines, before the test.
“The state government has agreed to withdraw the clause on pending traffic fines from its notification after scrutinising the points raised by some of the bus and minibus operators,” said a senior transport department official.
“Now, the owner of a commercial vehicle can take the vehicle for the pollution test if all taxes, insurance and permit fees are paid,” the official added.
While a formal order is yet to come, senior officials of the department said they have conveyed the decision to private bus and minibus operators.
Earlier in the month, the state government had issued a notification saying the vehicles whose owners had not cleared government dues
such as taxes, fines and penalties would not be able to undergo the mandatory auto emission test for pollution certificates.
Metro reported on December 4 that private bus and minibus operators had urged the state government to withdraw the clause on clearing “e-challan dues” for taking the pollution test.
At least three unions of bus and minibus operators had written to the transport department — with copies to the police department — saying traffic fines slapped by police were often contestable.
They argued that there were instances when a vehicle was erroneously booked for illegible figures on registration plates or because of a human error in noting down the number of a vehicle by an officer.
The earlier notification said all auto emission testing centres (AETCs) would issue a pollution-under-control certificate only after ensuring that the vehicle had its dues cleared.
On Thursday, bus and minibus owners welcomed the decision saying the modification would allow the vehicles on the roads to be armed with a pollution-under-control certificate and avoid penalties if booked by the police.
“Almost all private buses have pending traffic cases and on many occasions, the cases get resolved in Lok Adalats organised by the police. But this takes time. We had argued on this. It is good that the state government has agreed to make the necessary changes,” said Rahul Chatterjee of the All Bengal Bus and Minibus Samannay Samity.
“On Wednesday, a bus with pending traffic cases was allowed to take the pollution test, which wasn’t possible earlier because of the government order,” said Chatterjee.
Senior officials said all auto emission testing centres are connected to the Vahan portal with the help of software developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Changes will be made to the software so vehicles with all dues cleared except the ones related to traffic cases that are yet to be resolved will be allowed to take the pollution test, officials said.