Mar 21, 2025 06:38 AM IST
According to sources in the RTOs, the staff in question allegedly handed out fitness certificates to more than 60 vehicles a day although RTO authorities are not allowed to inspect more than 25 to 30
MUMBAI: The state transport department is investigating another alleged racket in the Andheri Regional Transport Office (RTO), in which inspectors and staff are suspected to have issued fitness certificates to vehicles without a thorough inspection. The malpractice allegedly took place between 2023 and 2024, the same period during which 76,000 driving licenses were allegedly issued by the same RTO after bogus tests.
In the alleged vehicle fitness fraud, not only were a higher number of vehicles given fitness certificates, but these were issued during weekends and on holidays when all RTOs are shut. “We have no issues with RTO officers working during weekends, and we appreciate their efforts,” said a senior official from the transport department. “However, there is a problem if thorough procedures and rules are not followed. This is what we are looking into.”
According to sources in the RTOs, the staff in question allegedly handed out fitness certificates to more than 60 vehicles a day although RTO authorities are not allowed to inspect more than 25 to 30. Senior officials from the transport department confirmed that they were investigating the matter and were looking into the possibility of vehicle owners greasing palms to avoid the mandatory inspection of their vehicles before being issued fitness certificates. The investigators are also looking at the possibility of applicants using forged documents.
As per the preliminary investigation, more than 500 vehicles were allegedly issued fitness certificates though the number is likely to increase as the investigation proceeds. Some of these vehicles were heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks.
The fitness of any vehicle is critical for it to ply on the road and the safety of passengers using it. Sources said that to prevent any bias, officers who inspected and issued fitness certificates to transport vehicles were rotated every month.
On March 19, state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik stated in the legislative council that there were 76,000 driving licenses issued by the Andheri RTO through bogus tests. Sarnaik said that an assistant regional transport officer and an inspector of state transport had been suspended in connection with the fake driving license scam.
The racket came to light when the Maharashtra accountant-general (Audit), Nagpur, flagged irregularities in the issuance of driving licenses at the Mumbai West RTO office during the financial year 2023-24. It was revealed that of the 1.04 lakh licenses scanned for 2023-24, a staggering 76,354 driving licenses—nearly 75 percent—were based on ‘suspect’ driving tests conducted using invalid vehicles. The audit report stated that only two two-wheelers and two cars were repeatedly used for conducting driving tests across various vehicle categories ranging from scooters to heavy-duty cranes.