ARAI to develop 10 vehicle certification centres in country
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has appointed Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India for developing ten centres
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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has appointed Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for developing ten centres,including one in the state,for inspection and maintenance (I&M) certification of vehicles in the country. These centres,expected to come up by 2012 end,will be responsible for the annual technical inspection and maintenance of vehicles and certification from these centres would eventually be made mandatory to run a vehicle on road.
ARAI director Shrikant Marathe said,ARAI had sent a proposal for these centres to the Ministry around a year-and-a-half ago. The proposal was accepted recently after several presentations and ARAI has been asked to develop 10 centres across the country.
Five of these centres in Maharashtra,Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh,Rajasthan and Gujarat will be built and operated by ARAI for a year. The cities where these centres will come up have not been finalised yet, Marathe said. The remaining five centres will be jointly developed by ARAI and the Internnational Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT).
The ARAI will be responsible for raising the centres,development of software and networking. These centres will test the suspension,engine emissions,brake balance,lights,steering wheel and underbody. All these tests will be done by machines while the under-body inspection of the vehicle for rust and other damages will be done manually, Marathe said.
The ARAI has formed a special team for building these centres,which will have the capacity to inspect 300-350 vehicles a day. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 10-12 crore for each centre. The centres will initially inspect commercial vehicles,followed by passenger cars and then perhaps two-wheelers.
The I&M certification may seem binding on the public,but it is necessary to control pollution. The percentage of old vehicles is much more as against new ones that follow the BS IV norms. These centres would help in curbing pollution from old vehicles, Marathe said.
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