Mass India, an NGO, on Friday alleged that there were irregularities in providing driving licences and renewing licences at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) here.
G.A. Koteyar, President of Mass India, told presspersons that a member from the NGO had been visiting the RTO for the last two months to get driving licence renewed. But the answer one got there was that the websites of the Transport Department had stopped working for the last two months. The applicants were told that they would have to wait for a month for the website to become operational, he said.
Mr. Koteyar alleged that no work could be done at the RTO without the help of agents or touts and without paying bribes. People had to wait from morning to evening just to get licences and renewal of licences. The NGO had come to these conclusions after it conducted a survey for over a month, he said.
A vehicle driver who did not have driving licence or had not got his licence renewed had to pay a fine of Rs. 500 to the police and the RTO. Even taxi and autorickshaw drivers had not been spared from this practice, he said.
The RTO should make arrangements immediately so that people could get their driving licences and existing driving licences renewed online. The higher authorities should take action to check the irregularities at the RTO, Mr. Koteyar said.
