The Central Government is aiming to scrap RTOs (Regional Transport Offices) and bring in a more efficient and alternative system within the next few months. This statement was issued by the Union Minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, in Pune, yesterday.
The minister has said the move will eliminate some outdated laws as well as processes and more importantly get rid of the harassment faced by ordinary citizens when using the various services of the RTO.
Gadkari said that a new system underpinned by the latest technology will be introduced to nab traffic violators. Under this system, the violators would be served notices at their doorstep and if the person challenged the charges in a court and lost the case, they would have to pay three times the specified fine.
We welcome such a move by the Centre to streamline the process but believe that elimination of the RTOs is a rather drastic step. The minister himself has said Tithe Laxmi darshanacha khel chalto (money rules there) which in common parlance speaks about the vicious circle of a complicated registration process and the existence of middle men who profit from the common man’s lack of understanding this system.
If the government streamlines the process for both vehicles (renewal every 10 years) and driver licences (renewal every 25 years) registrations which are pretty much the main functions of the RTOs, then the need to remove RTOs is negated. We hope that the introduction of the registration streamlining process and the recently announced online vehicle portal will make the experience of vehicle ownership a little easier in the future.
