As part of 100-day programme, Maharashtra transport dept aims to close border check posts

Mumbai, Jan 9 (PTI) A roadmap will be prepared to close border check posts as part of the 100-day programme presented by the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar on Thursday.

The Union government has directed that these border check posts be abolished, he said while interacting with reporters in his office here.

"Because our check posts are on PPP (Public Private Partnership) basis, a roadmap for their closure will be prepared under the 100-day programme," Bhimanwar said.

Maharashtra has 22 check posts along its borders with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. The Maharashtra government had kickstarted modernisation and integration of border check posts on PPP model in 2009.

RTO personnel check every vehicle, especially commercial and goods carriers, at these posts. However, there have been incidents of officials getting caught while accepting bribes, and there are regular insinuations that RTO inspectors are keen to get deployed at these "lucrative" posts.

States like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have already abolished check posts as part of efforts to increase ease of doing business.

The MMVD aims to provide 56 faceless services in 100 days, apart from hypothecation endorsement and termination services, for which vehicle owners won't need to visit RTOs, Bhimanwar informed.

Under the ambitious programme, the RFP for Automated Driving Test Tracks, that will be set up at 38 locations, will be finalised apart from setting up command and control centre for the Vehicle Location Tracking Device, the transport commissioner said.

Due to the model code of conduct for (Lok Sabha and assembly) polls (in 2024), the aggregator taxi policy, two-wheeler bike taxi policy, and maxi-cab policy could not be approved, he pointed out.

"We are going to pursue approval of these policies under the 100-day programme. New driver training centres that have been approved will start issuing driving licences. We have also decided to review the existing electric vehicles (EV) policy, announce some schemes for road safety, and nearly 13,000 government vehicles will be scrapped in the 100-day period," Bhimanwar said. PTI KK BNM