About 300 buses belonging to various schools and colleges in Hyderabad and over 700 in Ranga Reddy district are yet to obtain the mandatory fitness certificate from the Transport Department, though it has been almost a week since the fresh academic year began.
Mandatory
Before commencement of every academic year, schools and colleges operating buses need to obtain fitness certificates, road tax and other clearances from the Transport Department.
While, there are over 1,400 school and college buses in the capital, of these 1,100 have obtained fitness certificates and other clearances.
Likewise, there are about 5,300 school and college buses in Ranga Reddy district, out of which 4,600 have been issued fitness certificates.
Special raids
This apart, authorities have been conducting special raids since the last few days to book erring college managements.
Ranga Reddy Deputy Transport Commissioner C. Ramesh said 38 cases were booked against different schools and colleges for violating norms with regard to buses run by them and Rs.1.5 lakh was collected as compounding penalties from them.
With the government imposing a ban on plying of buses which are 15 years old and above, nearly 214 such buses were denied fitness certificates this year.
Instructions were issued to the managements not to operate these buses, failing which they would be seized and action initiated accordingly, he said.
Drivers’ salary demand
Meanwhile, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy School and College Bus Drivers Union demanded that the managements to pay a monthly salary of Rs.10,000 for drivers and Rs.8,000 for cleaners or attendants.
Union president G. Misaiah Yadav in a memorandum to Transport Commissioner wanted the school and college managements to provide one attendant in each bus, besides providing ESI, PF benefits and annual bonus for drivers and attendants.
