An unfit vehicle in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 10: Commuters beware when you step onto the road.

Data available with the regional transport office (RTO), Bhubaneswar, show that 42,124 transport vehicles, especially school and passenger buses, are plying in the city without proper fitness certificates.

What’s worse, these vehicles include ambulances, buses, heavy goods vehicles and autorickshaws. At present, the city has 1.2 lakh registered transport vehicles.

An official in the RTO said that apart from causing harm to environment, the unfit vehicles could face several problems which could even lead to accidents. Transport vehicles come with a fitness certificate for two years from the date of registration and the vehicle owner needs to renew the fitness certificate every year.

While the vehicle owner applied to the RTO for renewal of the fitness certificate, officials renew the same after inspecting the vehicle.

The inspection includes checking of the lights, indicators, efficiency of brakes and transparency of the windowpanes. The minimum penalty for not having a valid fitness certificate is Rs 2,500 which can go up to a maximum of Rs 5,000.

An RTO official also said that insurance companies could also deny claim of vehicles in case of an accident in the absence of a valid fitness certificate.

“Most of the vehicles plying without fitness certificate also operate without a pollution certificate, which is mandatory to obtain in every six months. These vehicles are also the reason behind air pollution,” said the RTO official.

The recent accident involving a sand-laden tipper, which claimed three lives, in Khandagiri Square has raised the urgency for verification of fitness certificates of the transport vehicles.

The truck had a fake number plate and its owner details were also false. During investigation, the police had found that the vehicle was operating without a valid fitness certificate, which might be a cause of brake failure leading to the accident.

RTO registers nearly 700 cases relating to vehicle check report every month, including around 250 reports for unfit commercial vehicles. But this is very low as compared to the number of transport vehicles plying without fitness certificate.

“It is surprising that more than 200 unfit school buses are carrying passengers. The authorities must act tough on these vehicles playing with lives of our children,” said Anirban Sahu, a parent.

However, another RTO official said that lack of manpower hampered their effort to take action against unfit vehicles.

“We have been conducting frequent drives against vehicles plying without fitness certificates. We will shortly expedite the drive,” said regional transport officer Lal Mohan Sethy.