Maharashtra has formally ended years of hardship for truck operators by scrapping the mandatory cleaner requirement for Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) and replacing it with a technology-driven alternative. A gazette notification dated April 8, issued under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, brings the change into effect.
Technology Replaces Manpower
Under the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles (First Amendment) Rules, 2026, HMV operators are no longer required to carry a cleaner, provided the vehicle is equipped with a Driver Assist System. This includes 360-degree cameras, blind-spot monitoring, and audio-visual proximity alerts.
Until now, the absence of a cleaner attracted a penalty of ₹1,500 per day, often compounded by multiple challans during a single trip, a practice widely criticised by the transport sector as harassment. “We used to dread checkposts. One trip, three challans all for the same thing,” said Ramesh Gupta, a long-haul truck driver from Nagpur. “This is the first time we feel the government actually listened.”
The decision follows sustained representations and advocacy efforts by transport bodies, including submissions made to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.
Bal Malkit Singh, Advisor and former AIMTC president, termed the move a “victory for transporters,” estimating annual savings running into crores.However, the exemption does not apply to articulated semi-trailers and hydraulic trailers used for oversized cargo, where the presence of a cleaner remains mandatory.
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