The Telangana government has approved revised administrative sanctions for 37 automated vehicle testing stations, with the project’s total cost rising to Rs.425.50 crore from the earlier sanction of Rs.296 crore, according to orders issued by the Transport department.
The stations will conduct vehicle fitness tests using modern technology. The revised approval fixes the cost at Rs.11.50 crore per station, compared with the earlier estimate of Rs.8 crore per station.
The decision was communicated by the office of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar. The orders provide for the establishment of the stations across Telangana, although the source report does not specify the full location-wise distribution or the technology and operating standards to be used at each facility.
The first phase will cover 15 automated vehicle testing stations. This phase includes one station at each of the former district headquarters, along with four additional stations in the Greater Hyderabad and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority region.
The government has approved Rs.172.50 crore for this first phase. At the revised unit cost of Rs.11.50 crore, the first-phase allocation corresponds to the planned 15 stations. The remaining stations are expected to be taken up under subsequent phases, though the orders cited in the report do not provide a completion schedule.
Automated testing stations are intended to shift vehicle fitness assessment towards technology-based inspection rather than relying only on manual checks. In Telangana, the approved network will therefore create a new state-backed testing infrastructure covering both former district headquarters and the wider Hyderabad-HMDA region.
The revised sanction also shows that the financial scope of the programme has changed substantially since the initial approval. The total allocation has increased by Rs.129.50 crore, while the per-station cost has risen by Rs.3.50 crore. The Transport department’s orders do not state the reason for the increase in the approved cost.
The immediate implementation milestone is the establishment of the 15 stations included in the first phase. Further details on tenders, construction timelines, commissioning dates, operating agencies and the rollout of the remaining 22 stations were not provided in the information available.
