Mumbai: Eight thousand school buses could be withdrawn from services, with their operators planning to go on strike from August 1 to protest vans and auto-rickshaws being allowed to ferry children to school without legal sanction.
Anil Garg, president, Maharastra School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA), said, “There are about 20,000 vans plying in the city at present, which is not legal. The State government is not paying heed to the Centre or the Bombay High Court. Vehicles with less than 13 seats are not allowed to ply for school purposes, but there is much corruption in the traffic department.”
He added that the school vans don’t have CCTV cameras and staff manning them don’t wear uniforms. “The traffic police don’t take any action despite seeing clear cases of overloading on a daily basis. The safety of children is at risk. We are protesting so that the government takes action against these vans.”
The ninth amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules under the Motor Vehicles Act, brought about on September 8, 2016, defines a school bus as “a vehicle with a seating capacity of 13 passengers and above, excluding the driver”.
Indrani Malkani, who is on the State government-appointed committee to look into school bus safety issues, said, “Schools issue a Common Standard Agreement (CSA) based on which the Regional Transport Office (RTO) issues school bus permits. Vans are getting permits without the CSA. How is the RTO issuing permits to them?”
She said Maharashtra is the only State to have a school bus policy. “Why would we want to sabotage the safety of our children despite a law being in place? There are many cases of molestation in vans and autos, as well as accidents.”
Subhas Kedia, secretary, Unaided School Forum of Maharashtra, supported the proposed strike. “We are concerned about the safety of children. These vans are still being allowed to operate as they are in connivance with the Traffic Police and the RTO. The High Court has also directed the RTO to allow only vehicles with more than 13 seats for school buses, but nothing is being done.”
Prashant Redij, secretary, Mumbai Principals Association, said, “We don’t oppose the strike but believe the SBOA should talk to the education and transport ministries and come up with a solution, instead of taking this measure as it will hamper children’s education.”
Echoing Mr. Redij’s views, Aashirwad Lokhande, principal, Sailee International School, said, “A strike is not the solution as each day is valuable when it comes to the students’academic performance. They, and the schools, will be inconvenienced.”
Mahendra Patil, Assistant Regional Rransport Officer (RTO), said, “This year, vans haven’t been issued permits. After the Central government issued an order last year stating that vehicles with less than 13 seats won’t be allowed to run as as school buses, the Bombay High Court cleared the air a month ago saying if a van service provider has a valid safety contract with the school to which he is providing services, then it can be given a permit. We are following the HC’s order.”
Parent Teacher Association United Forum president Arundhati Chavan said “Every now and then, the SBOA threatens to go on strike. They must not take the parents and students for granted like this. They should sit across the table with the RTO and find a solution instead of going on strike.” Mr. Garg said, “The RTO officers don’t follow the court or the government’s order, and they have been troubling us for two years now.”
