NEW DELHI: Amid reports of widespread non-compliance of safety norms in sleeper coach buses, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday directed officials to carry out checking of all such buses by govt-approved testing agencies — ARAI, CIRT and iCAT — and ensure compliance. He was chairing a review meeting on the recent bus fires in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh — which killed over 40 people — with top ministry officials. The minister was informed that out of around 60 sleeper buses, registered with RTOs since Sept 1, only a few had got type approval. Type approval of bus bodies is mandatory under the new Bus Body Code, which came into force from Sept. It was also flagged that in several cases registration of buses were renewed even without visiting transport department offices.

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