Mumbai: The School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) has alleged harassment by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), which has called the buses for a second round of inspection citing a recent Bombay High Court order on taking action against vehicles that do not meet the Common Standard Agreement (CSA) guidelines.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice G.S. Kulkarni had on May 5 contended that there is no proper implementation of the CSA, which is between the respective school and the PTA on one hand, and owners of vehicles transporting students on the other. The HC was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Parents Teachers Association United Forum.
Anil Garg, president of SBOA, said, “The RTO is still issuing permits to smaller vehicles, when it has been stopped [by the court]. This is contempt of court. Rather than calling us, the RTO needs to keep illegal vehicles in check. If the government does not take any action regarding smaller vehicles, we will go to court.”
As per the definition of school buses, which was amended on September 8, 2016, “School buses are vehicles that have a seating capacity of 13 passengers or more, excluding the driver and attendant. The buses must be designed and constructed specially for transporting children to and from schools.”
The High Court, in 2015, had said that school buses should be checked and fitness certificates should be issued before June. Mr. Garg said, “Fitness certificates have already been given. So by calling for a check now, they want to harass us.”
Ramesh Manian, a school bus operator from South Mumbai, said, “The government officers should show confidence in their workers, rather than calling us time and again.” He added that all their vehicles were registered.
Christopher D’Souza, an SBOA member from Mulund, said, “The fitness of our buses was checked, however the officers had not checked the buses according to the 23 norms introduced by the High Court order in 2015. Our buses were recalled, and were checked on these 23 parameters. All this was even videographed. We have the fitness certificates. It is absurd that they are calling us for a second inspection. We haven’t received any official message. It is through word of mouth that I have heard about the second inspection. It is harassment of bus operators.”
