Licence to drive, not kill!

Legacy driving school institutes are now unifying to meet Accredited Driver Training Centre norms, but the journey is facing hurdles in setting up expensive infrastructure and systems, reports Shahkar Abidi.

-  Shahkar Abidi.

A network of about 40 legacy driving schools in and around Satara, Karad, and Sangli districts, among others in Maharashtra are on a mission. They have collectively zeroed in on a couple of land parcels and submitted a proposal to the road transport ministry for approval to set up an Accredited Driver Training Centre (ADTC), as mandated under the government's efforts to make driving license procurement more stringent.

Once approved, these driving school operators will contribute 50 percent towards the cost of establishing the ADTC, which is currently estimated to be around Rs 2 crore for the two-acre land based on its location. The Centre will contribute the rest. The official formalities are such that the driving schools need to form a legal entity in order to benefit from the scheme as operators of the ADTC, who will be entitled to a fee of about Rs 300 per case. The average daily footfall at an ADTC set-up stands at around 200 applicants which means the operators will collect Rs 60,000.

Even though government regulations allow for a 25km range, Yusuf Khan, owner of Perfect Motor Driving School in Satara, told Autocar Professional that the search for suitable land parcels is turning out to be a tough job due to the high prices. The network incorporates driving schools from various locations, making it challenging to acquire a tract of land in the centre of the network. Another requirement that proved difficult to meet was the presence of hilly terrain.

Khan said, “We have submitted the proposal and are now waiting for the response from the ministry,” adding that Maruti Suzuki, which is also looking to set up a similar centre in the region, also appears to be facing problems in acquiring the land.