Mandatory Fitments Of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices And Emergency Panic Button In The State Of Tamilnadu

Chennai, 7th, November, 2020: Before proceeding with the objective of this Press Release and why the same is being brought forth by me, I feel obligated to formally introduce myself as Dr. Kamaljeet Singh Soi, an International road safety expert, Chairman Rahat-The Safe Community Foundation & President- Global Society of HSE Professionals. I am a doctorate in Transportation Management & Road Safety with additional qualifications and Post graduate Degrees in Road Safety & Infrastructure Management & Mobility Planning, Road Safety from Delft University of Technology and Road Safety & Accident Prevention from University of Hasselt.

Dr. Kamal Soi PhD, International Road Safety & Sustainable Transport Expert

At the outset, it is noteworthy, this Release is focused towards apprising the fourth pillar of Democracy “Media” towards gross illegalities perpetrated by the State Transport Authority, Government of Tamilnadu with respect to implementation of the Government’s initiative of mandatory fitments of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices and Emergency Button(s) in the Public Service Vehicles and Goods Vehicles with National Permit. I envisage the vision of a successful roll out of this “first time in the world” initiative in India.

Background:

Following the tragic gang rape of a young woman in Delhi in the year 2012 (the “Nirbhaya” incident), the Government of India set up a Committee headed by late Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) J.S. Verma to recommend amendments of Criminal Laws to enable address the issue of high rates Crime against Women. Amongst the several issues looking into by the committee, the Committee also looked into the issue of provision of adequate safety measures and amenities for women. In this regard, the Committee had given several recommendations, one of them being that “all buses should be fitted with tamper proof GPS systems.”

Taking a step towards implementing the aforementioned recommendation of the Committee, the Central Government on 28.11.2016 issued a Notification numbered GSR 1095(E), amending the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 by introducing Rule 125-H of those Rules making the fitment of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices with Emergency Panic Button mandatory for Public service vehicles and goods vehicles with national permit in the country.

With a vision to bring down crime against women and children, due to the lack of awareness of the general public regarding the Central Motor Vehicle Rules of 1989 (CMVR) and other relevant Rules and Regulations made for the safety and security of the public at large the undersigned has always wilfully involved in initiatives taken by various State Governments to improve women Safety and Security. This press release is issued with our deep concern to highlight the unfair practices adopted by the office of the Transport Commissioner, State Transport Authority, to implement the said Rule for implementation of Rule 125H pertaining to mandatory fitments of AIS 140/IRNSS compliant Vehicle Location Tracking Devices in the Public Service Vehicles and Goods Vehicles with National Permit plying across the State of Tamilnadu. The major aspects under question herein are: 

1. Non-issuance of any notification with respect to the fitment of AIS 140 compliant Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTD) in public service vehicles registered up to 31st December, 2018 by the Transport Department, Govt. of Tamilnadu.
2. Non-issuance of any public notice for calling AIS 140 certified VLTD manufacturers for getting their VLTD models enlisted/approved in the state.
3. Arbitrarily granting approval to only eight VLTD manufacturers without following the well-established procedure which manifests non-transparency inthe subject process.
4. Not adopting an AIS 140 compliant backend application for monitoring the vehicles fitted with VLTD’s and handling the alerts from the Panic Buttons in case of emergency thereby defeating the main objective of women safety and security.
5. Gross ignorance of MoRTH SO 5454 dated 25.11.2018 wherein fitment of VLTD was made mandatory for all new registration of vehicles w.e.f. 01.01.2019 and non-compliance to MoRTH guidelines (Letter Ref. RT-16011/1/2018-Tdated 15.01.2020 wherein it has been directed by MoRTH that all PSV’s and goods carriage with National Permit being registered on or after 01.01.2019 have to be fitted with a VLT device either by the vehicle manufacturer or their authorized dealership/agency and the VLT fitment data is also to be uploaded on VAHAN by either of them using their secured access to VAHAN.

It is to vehemently state that the Transport Department, Tamil Nadu unlawfully approved only eight companies without issuing any public notice for call of such applications keeping the other certified VLT manufacturers deprived of such permissions.

The Transport Department, Tamil Nadu grossly ignoring the mandatory GSR’s, SO’s issued time to time by The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India with respect to implementation of the said Rule is in clear defiance of the mandates in this regard.

Transport Department, Tamil Nadu has completely disregarded the mandate of AIS 140 norms (as amended time to time) by allowing the alleged eight VLTD manufacturers to use a private backend application which is neither certified by the testing agencies as specified under Rule 126 of the CMVR nor integrated with the national database of VAHAN thereby defying the whole purpose of fitment of VLT devices in public service vehicles.

It is to note that, in absence of a certified backend integrated with VAHAN, there shall be NO surveillance on the VLT fitments in the state, NO tracking of vehicles and absolutely NO provisioning to handle the emergency alerts coming from the VLT devices in case of an emergency.

Transport Department is glaringly acting with disregard of duty by flouting the mandate of Rule 125(H) of CMVR and committing an unlawful act of granting approval to only a few VLTD manufacturers in collusion with an intent to unlawfully profiteer and cause loss to public ex-chequer thus not only abusing the public trust but also the laid down Policy with respect to the safety and security of women.

The State is duty-bound to implement Rule 125H in the state effectively and in a legitimate manner and should incorporate a common layer backend system for implementation of said Rule pertaining to mandatory fitment of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices and emergency button in PSV’s and Goods Vehicles with NP plying across the State of Tamilnadu. 

It is pertinent to state herein that despite the Rule 125 H being introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India and implementation of the same made mandatory for the States and Union Territories in the country, to the utter dismay & disbelief over 40,000 rape cases have been reported in India since the year 2016. I am sure you will be concerned after reading these tragic figures.

Therefore, I strongly oppose the tyrannical methodology adopted by the state of Tamilnadu. Through the Fourth Pillar of democracy – MEDIA, I request that: 

1. Transport Department, should restrain from continuing issuance of any further approvals/permissions of VLT Device manufacturers as the approval granted so far has been done in complete negation to the laid down rules.
2. Revoke the approval orders issued to the eight VLTD manufacturers as they have been approved without any proper competitive mode of selection or approval process.
3. Transport Department, Tamil Nadu should adopt a fool proof mechanism for implementation of Rule 125H with respect to fitment of AIS 140 compliant VLT Devices and to have checks and balances through a AIS 140 CERTIFIED backend system for the state to ensure that only authentic VLT Devices get installed in the state and the main objective of the said Rule is achieved.
4. Transport Department, Tamil Nadu should issue necessary instructions to the RTO offices to only allow activation of those VLT devices, being fitted by vehicle manufacturer or their authorized dealers for registration of new vehicles in the state.

Dr. Kamal Soi PhD,

International Road Safety & Sustainable Transport Expert,

Chairman - Raahat - The Safe Community Foundation

Ex Vice Chairman- Punjab State Road Safety Council – Government of Punjab

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