Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is working towards completing the construction of automated driving test tracks across the state by the end of this year, with projects underway at multiple locations, as informed by the Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena in the state assembly on Thursday.
Minister Jena responded to a question from Nayagarh MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo, stating that driving tests are being carried out by the state government in every Regional Transport Office in accordance with Rules 14 and 15 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. As of now, 19 RTOs are utilizing the Automated Driving Testing Method to conduct these tests.
To further enhance the testing process, an automated driving test track is being constructed at Gopalpur under the Regional Transport Office in Cuttack.
The project, which is being managed by the Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OPHWC), has received an administrative approval of Rs 5,68,01,300 (Rupees 5 crore 68 lakh 1 thousand 3 hundred). Construction is ongoing, with efforts being made to complete the project as soon as possible.
In addition to this, another automated driving test track system is being developed in Sundarpur, under the Regional Transport Office Bhubaneswar-2. The site has been handed over to OPHWC, with an administrative approval of Rs 5,03,73,100 (Rupees 5 crore 3 lakh 73 thousand 1 hundred) for the project.
A similar initiative is also underway at Ogalapada, under the Regional Transport Office Bhubaneswar-1, where an administrative approval of Rs 7,34,47,000 (Rupees 7 crore 34 lakh 47 thousand) has been granted for the construction of the automated driving test track. The state government has set a target to complete all these projects by the end of this year, ensuring that the automated driving test infrastructure is fully functional across the state.
