Kerala races against time to set up automatic vehicle fitness centres

Kozhikode: The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) is expediting plans to set up automatic vehicle fitness testing centres across the state, following a strict directive from the Union Ministry of Transport, which mandates automatic fitness tests for all transport vehicles starting April 1.

The department has invited tenders to establish 19 new automatic testing centres. While discussions had been ongoing for some time, no firm decisions had been made until the issuance of the central government’s directive.

Currently, nine automatic fitness centres in the state are closed, and officials are manually conducting tests and issuing certificates. However, under the new directive, only certificates issued through automatic testing will be considered valid. There are concerns that vehicles lacking these certificates could face penalties or be impounded when travelling to other states.

MVD officials argue that since certificates are issued through Parivahan, tests conducted manually are also legally valid. Meanwhile, MVD officials stated that the new directive lacks clear instructions on how to conduct the examination.

The Transport Minister’s office assured that steps are being taken to set up the automatic fitness centres as soon as possible.