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Form task force to stop unfit vehicles: HC


Published : 16 Feb 2020 08:32 PM | Updated : 03 Sep 2020 01:24 AM

The High Court on Sunday directed the government to form separate taskforces in all districts to monitor and stop unregistered and unfit vehicles from plying the roads.

The deputy commissioner of each district will head the taskforce, the HC ordered.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order after hearing two reports filed by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Bangladesh Police on number of vehicles without fitness certificates.

Earlier, lawyer Moeen Firozi and Md Rafiul Islam on behalf of BRTA submitted its report to the court informing that the road monitoring authority is unable to conduct raids against unfit vehicles due to manpower shortage and pleading for the order to form taskforces.

Secretaries to the ministry of public administration, home affairs and road transport and bridges ministry will take necessary steps to form the taskforce in line with the Road Transport Act 2018 in order to take appropriate legal action including seizing, stopping and dumping of unfit and unregistered vehicles, the High Court added while hearing a suo moto rule.

The court also directed the authorities concerned of the government to submit separate reports after complying with the directives in the next three months. High Court also fixed June 1 for passing further order on this issue.

On behalf of state, deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik said the taskforce will be comprised of deputy commissioner, concerned executive magistrate and representatives from Road Transport Department and police for taking necessary action against unregistered and unfit vehicles.

The HC bench had issued a rule on March 27 last year following a report published on The Daily Star on March 23 under the headline "No fitness docs, yet running".

In the rule, it asked the authorities concerned of the government to explain why their inaction to bar unfit vehicles and unlicensed drivers should not be declared illegal and why directives should not be given to implement the relevant laws, including the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983.

On February 12, the High Court wanted to know from the authorities concerned of the government how unfit vehicles were still operating.

On Sunday, BRTA submitted a report before a HC bench saying that only 1,65,764 vehicles renewed their fitness certificates till December 30 last year among 4,58,359 that the BRTA had identified to be without valid documents.

Therefore, 2,92,595 vehicles without valid fitness documents are plying the roads since December 30 last year, according to the BRTA report.