Standing in long queues and availing of services of middlemen for vehicle registration or tax payment will soon become a thing of the past.
The Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Ernakulam and Muvattupuzha have already integrated their operations to Vahan 4.0 software that would make the RTOs paperless and cashless. “The rest of the sub-regional offices in Ernakulam will shift to the new software by the end of this month,” said Joji P. Jose, Regional Transport Officer, Ernakulam.
Stating that initial hiccups may occur considering the fact that a new version is in place, Mr. Jose pointed out that necessary corrective measures will be made to ensure the smooth implementation of Vahan 4.0, which is user-friendly.
The software was developed by the National Informatics Centre to help streamline online service delivery, covering five major areas of the Motor Vehicles Department. He said that all existing services operated with the support of other software will be replaced with Vahan. Service providers too will have to make use of the new software for submission of applications to the offices under the Motor Vehicles Department.
Various processes such as registration of motor vehicles, issuing registration certificates, and permits will go online with the new version of Vahan. Vehicle dealers will have to submit registration applications through the new software. The registration certificate generated through the new version will have a QR code.
The software will send a message to the owner’s mobile number once the registration number is generated.
It will cover services that include vehicle registration and its renewal, issue of permits, tax payment, issue and renewal of fitness certificates, and settlement of fines under various enforcement activities. Other services available online include transfer of ownership, change in address, and various renewal procedures.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways rolled out the Vahan project to ensure the real-time availability of all information related to vehicles registered in regional transport offices across the country.
The new integrated solution for vehicle registration is expected to act as a national online information repository to track details of all vehicles. The police will have access to the registry and information available online, which can be used to resolve crimes involving vehicles.
