ISLAMABAD, June 5: Against the backdrop of the tragic May 25 accident in which 16 children and a teacher died after their school van caught fire near Gujrat, an inquiry commission has recommended separate colour for vehicles carrying schoolchildren.

Constituted on the orders of the former chief minister of Punjab, the five-man commission headed by Commissioner of Gujranwala Tariq Najeeb has called for a ban on replacement of diesel engines with petrol or CNG engines as well as compulsory installation in public vehicles of CNG cylinders outside the passengers` compartment, instead of under the seats.

The Supreme Court, which had taken suo motu notice of the Gujrat incident, has summoned Chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Saeed Ahmed Khan to appear before it on Thursday with a report suggesting a mechanism on installation of gas cylinders in vehicles.

The secretary of the Regional Transport Authority will also apprise the court of the action taken against motor vehicle examiner Farrukh Sohail who had issued road-worthiness certificate to the ill-fated van on Nov 8 last year that expired on April 30, 2013.

Ironically the rear door of the vehicle, purchased three years ago for Rs300,000, was not working and jammed.

The secretary will also inform the court about any campaign launched to prevent such incidents in future.

The chief justice described the incident as an eye-opener and deplored that the market was flooded with substandard CNG cylinders. The cylinders under passenger seats in public vehicles are like tank bombs but no-one has ever bothered to check, he said.

Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry cited a newspaper report that fake CNG fitness certificate were being sold in Rawalpindi and the whole of Punjab for Rs3,500 to 5,000.

The inquiry commission`s report asks Ogra to review its policy and delegate powers to the district administration for effective monitoring and implementation of its instructions.

It also suggests that Ogra, the federal government and the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) should formulate guidelines and enforcement mechanism for detection and prevention of use of substandard CNG cylinders and kits.

The commission suggested that certification by workshops authorised by the HDIP for fitting CNG kits/cylinders must be made strict and vigilant. The workshops should check all CNGfitted public vehicles every three months and a sticker showing the dates must be pasted on their windscreens for awareness of public.

All tested CNG cylinders should be stamped or have barcodes showing their last and next inspection dates.

For efficient monitoring of issuance of driving licences, all offices should be connected with computer networking to stop issuing of fake driving licences.

The commission highlighted the need for regular inspection of private schools by district education officers before issuing registration certificates.

All unregistered/illegal schools should be immediately closed. Fire extinguishers should be installed in all public vehicles. Extra fuel cans/gallons/bottles should immediately be removed from the vehicles and strict checking must be ensured by law-enforcement agencies, the commission said.