We are aware that during the last two decades, there has been an exponential growth in the number of automobiles in India. The rate of the growth is manifold in personalized vehicles as compared to public transport vehicles. Unfortunately, number of roads and road space has not increased in tandem with the growth of vehicular population. This situation has posed a serious challenge to Road Safety and Environment. During the last 20 years, efforts are on, under the aegis of Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways to bring in new regulations to enhance safety. To a greater extent, we are successful in enhancing the safety provisions in all categories of automobiles, except Bus Bodies and Truck Bodies built on drive away chassis. We are aware that, Bus Body Building and Truck Body Building is carried out not only by a few well organized sectors but also largely by Small scale industries and even road side garages. There is a need to implement Bus body code and Bus Body Building Accreditation System to ensure building of buses as per the stipulated safety norms. In order to implement Bus Body Builders Accreditation System, there is a need to establish a proper system for the effective implementation.

We are aware that Government of India has already set the deadline for the implementation of the Accreditation System for Bus Body Builders as March 2008 ( i.e one year from notification of its order called as Central Motor Vehicles (Accreditation for bus body builders) order, 2007 and notified in Gazette of India, Notification No. S.O.425(E) dated 23rd March, 2007).

As per the above notification, all the Bus Body Building units will have to obtain accreditation certificate to demonstrate their capabilities to build buses as per the safety norms. Very soon the Bus Body Code, Testing and approval for the body building of buses AIS:052 (available on www.araiindia.com) and Testing and approval for the body building of school buses AIS:063 (available on www.araiindia.com) will also be mandatory on a date to be notified by the Government. This was notified vide Notification No.GSR 589(E) dated 16 Sept, 2005.

In order to create awareness amongst all the stake holders we had organized a 2-day National Workshop on Accreditation System for Bus Body Builders on the 8th and 9th February, 2008. This workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and was a grand success. It was attended by bus body builders, vehicle manufacturers, representatives of enforcing authorities, testing labs and State Transport Undertakings.

Bus Body builders will have to study the instructions in the above notifications carefully and proceed with their applications (Application in Word Format). The applications should be accompanied with separate Demand Drafts of Rs.1000/- as Registration Charges and Rs. 50000/- as Assessment Fees, as detailed below.

For West & South zones:in favour of the Director, CIRT, payable at Pune and forwarded at the following address:

The Director, Central Institute of Road Transport, (Zonal Accreditation Board) Post Bag No. 1897, Pune-Nashik Road, Bhosari, Pune 411 026

For East & North zones:

Contact Director, Automotive Research Association of India, (Zonal Accreditation Board), Post Box No. 832, Pune - 411 004, Email : director@araiindia.com, Website : www.araiindia.com, Telephone : (020)30231111, (020)30231101, Fax No. 020-25434190 for further necessary information.

Note:

For the purpose of the Accreditation, all States/Union Territories in the country shall be divided in four Zones viz.,

North Zone:

Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan

West Zone:

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Havelli, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh

South Zone:

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Lakshdweep, Pondicherry

East Zone:

Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim