In the latest instance of the Transport Department's "outsource first, investigate later" policy, the Gandhinagar Transport Department has ordered surprise inspections of all Automated Testing Stations (ATS) across Gujarat.

The move comes after large-scale alleged instances of bogus fitness certificates being issued for commercial vehicles surfaced.

Ironically, these are the very private ATS centres that were handed the job of issuing fitness certificates last year after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) decided RTO offices were too overburdened - and allegedly too corruption-prone - to handle the process.

The move has triggered panic across RTO offices in the state, especially in Ahmedabad, where officials from Subhash Bridge, Vastral and Bavla RTOs are reportedly scrambling to verify ATS records before more embarrassing revelations hit the road.

Fitness certificates are mandatory every two years for ambulances, school vans, luxury buses and all commercial vehicles. Until last year, RTO inspectors physically checked vehicles before issuing certificates.

Within months, cases began surfacing, where ATS centres allegedly issued fitness certificates without even physically inspecting vehicles. Gujarat currently has over 60 ATS centres, including seven in Ahmedabad alone - making the state one of the country's leaders in ATS infrastructure. According to Transport Department sources, the inspections have already begun producing awkward moments. On Monday, officials inspecting two ATS centres in Gandhinagar - "MD Motors" and "Visual" - reportedly sought three months of operational data. One ATS operator allegedly failed to provide complete records, raising suspicions of irregular transactions and questionable fitness approvals.