When the State is bracing to observe the 28th Road Safety Week from Monday, paucity of vehicles has hit the working of Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) and enforcement activities.
The reduced presence of MVD personnel on roads is felt in the available road accident statistics for January-October during which 3,539 road users were killed, 25,281 grievously injured, and 11,718 injured in the 33,088 road accidents in the State.
Of the 189 vehicles in the MVD fleet, only 148 are road worthy and 90 per cent of them are above five years old. As the 34 enforcement squads and four flying squads have been provided only one vehicle each, six personnel are forced to travel in one vehicle and get stationed in one locality.
The enforcement activities are hit as the department is not able to effectively use the 600 MVD personnel tasked with enforcement and to ensure road discipline in the State, a top transport department official told The Hindu .
The 22 vehicles deployed for the MVD’s Safe Zone project in the ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage season were pooled from various offices. Of these, all have logged in over one lakh km and are in very bad condition due to the wear and tear in the hilly terrain. Three vehicles had been confined to garage after they were involved in accidents.
The posts of Joint Transport Commissioner (JTC), Enforcement, and that of four RTOs were created in 2012 for strengthening enforcement and to make the presence of the MVD felt on roads. The post of JTC is lying vacant for six months.
Each enforcement official collects ₹5-8 lakh penalty monthly from erring motorists. If more vehicles are provided, the enforcement squads can be increased up to 100 using the existing staff.
The shortage of vehicles in the MVD fleet has also been reflected in the revenue as the various penalties have dwindled from ₹92.09 crore in 2014-15 to ₹86.25 crore in 2015-16. The officials expect a further dip during 2016-17.
Despite being a money spinner to the exchequer, funds are not forthcoming to the genuine demands such as augmentation of the fleet. In addition to other funds, 50 per cent of the compounding fee from the penalties collected by the MVD, police and the Road Safety Cess has to come to the department. But, funds are never allocated to the KRSA.
The department auctioned many old vehicles, including three from the Commisionerate, but new vehicles have not been provided in their place.
The MVD’s three-year-old request for 14 new vehicles for strengthening its enforcement activities is yet to be approved. The ₹140 lakh needed was provided from the Kerala Road Safety Fund.
Later, the Transport Department asked the MVD to purchase 10 vehicles each costing ₹8 lakh and orders were placed. But the Transport Secretary rescinded the decision on January 3 without citing any reason. “The Kerala Police was provided 16 vehicles with funds from KRSF last month and other department got 52 vehicles. The denial of new vehicles to MVD shows the lack of sincerity towards road safety and lives of citizens,” he said.
