Maharashtra gets in-principle nod to set up Institute of Driving Training and Research in Thane

Mumbai: The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has given an in-principle approval to set up a new Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) in Maharashtra's Thane district, aimed at strengthening driver training infrastructure and promoting road safety in the state, officials said. This will be the fourth IDTR approved in the state after Pune, Nagpur and Latur.The proposed institute will come up at Bapsai village in Kalyan taluka of Thane under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, they said.The institute is expected to provide advanced driver training, research facilities and skill development programmes for both commercial and private vehicle operators.As per the communication sent by the ministry, the approved cost of this IDTR is Rs 18.42 crore. Of this, the Union government will provide Rs 17.25 crore, while the remaining Rs 1.17 crore will be borne by the private partner — Bhaskarrao Mahajan Samajik Shaikshanik Va Sanskrutik Sanstha (Bhaskarrao Mahajan Social, Educational, and Cultural Organisation).A state government official, who did not wish to be named, told PTI that Maharashtra had submitted a proposal for establishment of IDTR in Thane district earlier this year.The institute will be located close to the Kalyan-Ahilyanagar Highway, which has witnessed many serious crashes with high number of fatalities, as well as near the JNPT spur of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the starting point of Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg.The IDTR falls under the 15th Finance Commission cycle and is intended to improve driving standards and road safety awareness through structured training facilities.The ministry has asked the state government to submit land hypothecation documents and society registration papers required for overseeing the construction and operation of the institute before the final sanction order is issued.Notably, the IDTR site is close to the Kalyan-Ahilyanagar National Highway, which has witnessed several accidents in the recent past.Just a few days after the ministry approved the proposal, 11 people lost their lives at Rayate village, a few kilometres from Bapsai, when a speeding taxi rammed into a cement mixer truck on April 13, 2026.On Tuesday, four persons were killed and three others injured near Vaishakhare village on the same highway in a head-on collision between a state transport bus and an SUV.According to transport department accident data, Maharashtra recorded 15,549 deaths in a total of 36,450 accidents in 2025, while between January 1 and the end of March 2026, as many as 3,858 people lost their lives in a total of 9,259 accidents across the state.
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