New driver’s licence centre becomes operational in Dadri, 324 DLs to be issued daily

The move aims to relieve the burden on Noida’s transport department and streamline the process by adding training programmes and implementing automated, CCTV-monitored operations

With the driving training centre (DTC) in Dadri set to become operational from Thursday, the Noida transport office in Sector 33 stopped processing of drivers’ licences (DLs) from Wednesday and officials said that the new DTC has the capacity to produce around 324 DLs every day.

Officials said the issuance of learner’s licences and renewal of permanent licences will continue to take place from the Sector 33 office (above). (HT Archive)

The Uttar Pradesh government outsourced the processing to two private agencies on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, said officials on Wednesday. The move aims to relieve the burden on Noida’s transport department and streamline the process by adding training programmes and implementing automated, CCTV-monitored operations.

Officials said the issuance of learner’s licences and renewal of permanent licences will continue to take place from the Sector 33 office.

“The government has issued letters of intent to two agencies—Shivam Marbles for a centre in Basada in Dadri and Sai Fire Appliances Pvt. Ltd. for a centre in Jewar. The Dadri centre is ready for operations from August 1, 2024,” said Siyaram Verma, assistant regional transport officer (ARTO), administration, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Shivam (Marbles) has equipped the Dadri unit with simulators and tracks to conduct automated, CCTV-monitored training and driving tests. These tests are part of the process before the transport department issues certificates to successful candidates.

Pawan Bansal, the owner of Shivam DTC, confirmed that the facility is ready start driving licence tests from Thursday.

Explaining the process, Bansal said, “The applicants need to get the six-month valid learner’s licence from the transport department. As per the learner’s licence rule, the applicant can apply for a permanent licence 30 days after and six months from the date of issue of the learner’s licence.”

“We have made tracks for the licence test. The applicant needs to demonstrate their skills by passing the driving test in 3.10 minutes. After the completion of the test, we will issue the certificate, which will later be cleared by the transport department,” said Bansal.

The DTC will update the daily data on the government website (sarathi.parivahan.gov.in), detailing the total number of tests conducted and their results.

Noida residents raised concerns as the the new centre is located around 40km from Noida. After the notification, the Noida transport office saw a surge in driver’s licence applications in the last week of July.

“The department typically receives around 200 applications daily, but in the last week of July, the number rose to nearly 300,” said a senior official from the transport department, asking not to be named.