Panel formed for school bus rules

[1]

Reacting to the Madras high court’s direction that the state government should submit draft rules fixing criteria and conditions governing school buses within two weeks, the State Transport Authority constituted a six-member committee on Saturday to frame the regulations.

Sources in the State Transport Authority said that the committee would be headed by Joint Transport Commissioner (Rules) Radhakrishnan and comprise a deputy transport commissioner, three regional transport officers besides PA to the state transport commissioner.

The committee met for the first time on Saturday evening, within a few hours of being constituted, at the transport commissioner’s office in Chepauk and discussed how to proceed with the job entrusted upon them.

“We have just completed our first meeting. We will frame the rules based on the Supreme Court’s directives governing school buses and the clauses mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act,” a committee member told this newspaper after the meeting.

The committee will also take into consideration the local aspects while framing the draft rules. “After finalizing the draft rules, we will submit it to transport commissioner Prabhakara Rao and a final call will be taken after consideration with home secretary Rajagopal,” said the source, adding that the report should be prepared within a week.

The Madras high court had taken suo motu note of the violent death of six year old Shruthi who, on last Wednesday had fallen through a hole on the floor of her school bus and had been run over. The incident drew the ire of local residents who set ablaze the bus and the failure of the system came under huge criticism from across the state.