Jharkhandinc Bureau
RANCHI, March 20: Around 1,800 commercial passenger vehicles in Jharkhand are awaiting registration certificates due to delays linked to installation and activation of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs), officials said.
According to transport department officials, registration has been made contingent on installation of VLTDs. However, the system required to integrate and activate these devices is still being updated, leading to a backlog across district transport offices.
Ranchi District Transport Officer Sanjiv Kumar said the delay is due to technical integration issues.
“Installation of VLTD has been made mandatory for commercial passenger vehicles. However, the system is currently under updation, due to which activation is pending and registrations are getting delayed,” he said.
Officials said that in Ranchi alone, more than 100 applications are pending.
Vehicle owners said they are unable to deploy newly purchased vehicles for commercial use without registration certificates, resulting in loss of income.
Several applicants said they have completed purchase formalities and submitted required documents but are waiting as tracking devices are either unavailable or not yet operational in the system.
Owners said vehicles remain idle while they continue to bear loan repayments and other fixed costs.
Some applicants who planned to operate commercial cabs said they have not been able to begin services and have made repeated visits to transport offices without clarity on timelines.
Transport Secretary K. Ravi Kumar said the issue is temporary and will be resolved after system upgrades.
“The VLTD system is being upgraded and integrated at the backend. Once the update is completed, activation will begin and pending registrations will be cleared. The process will also be brought online to avoid such delays in future,” he said.
Officials said the tracking system is part of a safety and monitoring framework and will be implemented uniformly once operational issues are resolved.