Applying for driving licence? Govt CSCs to charge 5 times more for online applications | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Applying for driving licence? Govt CSCs to charge 5 times more for online applications

Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai
Mar 04, 2018 12:10 AM IST

The decision will affect senior citizens and those who do not have smartphones or access to internet, but it likely to provide an opportunity to RTO agents and touts to fleece them.

The Common Service Centers (CSC), set up for providing various e-governance services to citizens, will now charge five times the current amount to make online applications for driving licences and other vehicle-related documents.

The CSC e-governance centre has been facilitating the citizens for filling online forms for RTO related works since 2015.(Representational photo)
The CSC e-governance centre has been facilitating the citizens for filling online forms for RTO related works since 2015.(Representational photo)

The decision will affect senior citizens and those who do not have smartphones or access to internet, but it likely to provide an opportunity to RTO agents and touts to fleece them.

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While renewing the contract with CSC e-governance services India limited, the transport department gave them sanction to charge Rs100 instead of the earlier amount Rs20 for facilitating online applications for any RTO related work at around 32,000 CSC operators across the state.

Before adopting new upgraded versions of SARATHI and VAHAN systems, used for driving licence and vehicle registration respectively, the department had signed an agreement with CSC e-governance services India limited in 2015. This was to make it easy for citizens to apply online for RTO-related work, even if they did not have smartphones or internet access.

Since then, the CSC e-governance centre has been facilitating the citizens for filling online forms for RTO related works, charging them Rs20 per application.

Last week, the department wrote to all RTO offices, asking them to inform CSC operators and citizens in their jurisdiction about the increased fees.

“If e-governance service centres are going to charge such a high amount, people will prefer going to agents outside RTOs,” said a RTO official, requesting anonymity. Another RTO official expressed concern that some agents might hike their fees for online applications, in the wake the decision.

The transport department defended its decision, claiming that it has revised the fees considering the input cost for the service. “CSC centers have to do data entry, scan the documents, make payments and give print outs of the forms to the applicants, which is why the charges have been revised,” said Satish Sahsrabuddhe, additional transport commissioner of the state.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Kailash works with the political team and has been covering transport beat for over a decade. He is interested in travel and music.

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