Now, residents will have to travel 40km to Dadri to get their driver’s licence

The two private agencies—Shivam (Marbles) Driving and Training Centre (DTC)—will run the service out of an office Bisada in Dadri, Greater Noida, from August 1

The Noida transport department office in Sector 33 will no longer process driving licence applications from July 31 as the Uttar Pradesh government has outsourced the process to two private agencies, a transport department official said on Thursday.

The shift has not gone down well with residents, with some of them calling the decision to shift the DL application process to Dadri, around 40km from Noida, as impractical. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The two private agencies—Shivam (Marbles) Driving and Training Centre (DTC)—will run the service out of an office Bisada in Dadri, Greater Noida, from August 1, said officials.

While 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, it will greatly inconvenience applicants who will have to travel almost 40km (one way) to reach the new office.

“Through public-private partnership (PPP) model, the state government is planning to engage private agencies to set up driving and training centres,” said Siyaram Verma, assistant regional transport officer (ARTO, administration) Gautam Budh Nagar.

The ARTO said the government has issued letters of intent to two agencies—Shivam Marbles for a centre in Dadri and Sai Fire Appliances for a centre in Jewar. The Dadri centre is ready for operation from August 1, 2024, he said.

“Based on the applicants’ performance, the private agencies will issue certificates, and then they will be approved by the transport department before dispatching the licences to the applicants’ addresses once they pass the test,” said an official, adding that applicants from Noida and Greater Noida will need to visit the Dadri centre for their tests and training.

The shift has not gone down well with residents. Traffic Volunteer, Amit Gupta, who is also a member of Prateek Wisteria Residents Welfare Association in Sector, Noida, said, “The decision to shift the DL application process to Dadri, around 40km from Noida, is a completely impractical one.”

“If we have travel to Dadri, then an entire day would go in travel alone. Services should be developed to make things easy, but it seems that the transport department is intent on harassing residents,” said Gupta, adding that they should search for a place in Noida itself for shifting the licensing process.

“The move to privatise the entire process may be a good one as it would eliminate the role of touts in the system,” said Rajiva Singh, president of Federation of Noida Apartment Owners’ Association.

“However, changing the location to Dadri is not a good idea in terms of accessibility. The RTO office is centrally located in Noida and it would be a good idea if the new process can be operated from both locations, Dadri being as an add on counter,” said Singh.

Pawan Bansal, owner of Shivam DTC, said, “We got two acres of land on rent and developed the training infrastructure such as driving tracks, parking, lights, CCTV cameras, and other equipment. The officials inspected the premises and approved the facilities.”

“The entire process is automated and under CCTV camera surveillance and two days ago, we also received the approval letter from the government.” he said.

In addition to conducting driving tests, the centre will also offer a variety of training courses. These include training for light motor vehicles, medium, and heavy motor vehicles, as well as specialized courses for night and hill driving, wet weather driving, and handling vehicles carrying hazardous goods. Other courses will focus on raising awareness about road accidents, traffic pollution, and environmental issues. Course fee will range from ₹500 to ₹10,000.

ARTO Verma said a total of five such centres will come up in Gautam Budh Nagar, which would eventually eliminate long-distance travel for Noida residents.