RTO staffers protest alleging privatisation

An association of staffers of the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has staged a protest against a central government decision to permit vehicle distributors to directly register vehicles at showrooms

An association of staffers of the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has staged a protest against a central government decision to permit vehicle distributors to directly register vehicles at showrooms.

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The association has called the move “a privatisation of the RTO”.

The RTO staffers wore black badges while carrying out their official duties on Wednesday.

“The registration work comes under the purview of the RTO department and the current policy of the central government takes away the official right. This is the first step towards privatisation and we completely oppose this move,” said association secretary, Surendra Sartape.

It may be recalled that Union minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, in 2014 had said that the central government was in the process of creating an efficient system in terms of RTOs.

However, according to RTO authorities, the new dealer point registration method has proved useful and reduced paperwork .

Once a customer registers the vehicle, the Aadhaar card, permanent account number (PAN) and related documents are uploaded on the RTO website, and then the customer receives an OTP.

All payments from the distributor are then made, after which, the distributor gets the registration number and hands over a number plate to the customer.

The distributor uses a digital signature when registering the vehicles. Documents no longer need to be submitted to the RTO office.