Private vehicles operating as pool cars to ferry school children will soon have to face the crackdown of the state administration. The state Transport Department and the traffic police officials from the city and districts have chalked out plans to seize private vehicles that will be found operating as pool cars. The officials of the three departments, after a meeting with the members of the pool car association, have unanimously decided to seize the private vehicles that will be found operating commercially to ferry school children without an appropriate registration.

Also, registered pool cars with failed or improper ‘fitness certificates,’ will be immediately detained by the police on nonbailable charges. “Unless the owners will get their papers cleared, they will not be able to ply their vehicles which will be with the local police,” informed general secretary of West Bengal Pool Car Welfare Association, Ajan Mukherjee.

“Also, if the CF of the vehicle is okay but the physical conditions of the pool car is found to poor, its CF will immediately be revoked and it will be barred from plying,” he added. Last week, a pool car accident in Hooghly district left 15 school children injured, two of which are critically ill and receiving treatment at SSKM Hospital. While another incident took place near Kolkata Station last Monday, when a there was a collision between a pool car and a twowheeler.

The two incidents brought into the fore, unregulated plying of pool cars in the city and districts, a considerable number of which are registered under the category of private vehicles. According to Sudip Dutta, secretary of Pool Car Welfare Association, a vehicle tracking system has been made compulsory for the commercial vehicles. The transport department has also decided to relax the penalty amount on failure of CF and taxes.

Instead of Rs50 fine per day, the department has decided to allow onetime payment of Rs.1500 for getting CF. The same has been decided to make applicable for taxes also, after a request from the pool car operators. The last date of the rebate, according to sources in the department is 31 March.