Photos: Delhi’s Burari transport office up for state-of-the-art upgrades

A chunk of the work at Delhi’s Burari transport office will now be distributed to the 13 regional transport offices (RTOs) from next month, officials told Hindustan Times, detailing plans to clean up a centre that was infamous for corruption. The transport office in north Delhi’s Burari which dealt with the inspection and certification of the roughly half a million commercial vehicles in the city will be closed from November and will pave way for a state-of-the-art training and testing centre, which will include a new automated driving test track on its 37-acre campus.

Updated on: Sep 29, 2018 1:10 PM IST

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Delhi’s only transport office in Burari that dealt with the inspection and certification of the roughly half a million commercial vehicles in the city will be closed from November. A chunk of its work will now be distributed to the 13 regional transport offices (RTOs) from next month, officials told Hindustan Times, detailing plans to clean up a centre that was infamous for corruption. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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“Corruption and touts were rampant in Burari because for almost 30 years, there has been only one centre for about 6.5 lakh transport vehicles, including auto-rickshaws, cabs, small and medium good carriers and contract carriage buses,” transport minister Kailash Gahlot said. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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The Burari centre has two offices: the auto-rickshaw unit (ARU) and the commercial vehicle inspection unit (VIU). Every day, nearly 400 applicants line up at the ARU with requests to renew their permits and fitness certificates. These are done after vehicles are inspected. This work will now be spread over the 13 regional transport offices from October 15, Gahlot said. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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A view of the vehicle inspection centre at the Burari transport office. In July, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal carried out a surprise inspection at the office and said it appeared to be a “den of corruption” with touts and commission agents virtually controlling all work. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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Ajay Rawat, an auto-rickshaw driver who was waiting in the queue seeking permit renewal, said those who chose the regular channel were the real sufferers. “The crowd is so overwhelming at Burari that one is compelled to take the help of touts,” he said. Waiting for hours under a broken tin shed without any guarantee of the work being completed in a day meant risking a day’s earning he added. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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For other requests such as transfer of ownership, loan endorsement and termination, registration and replacement of autos and taxis, work will be shifted to the transport department’s headquarters at Under Hill road in North Delhi. The RTOs are taking a slew of measures such as introducing an ‘all-online’ application process from next month and a token system to streamline crowds. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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“Even in peak summer, I have to conduct tests under this broken shed without even a fan. The plan to spread this work to all RTOs will take the load off inspectors like me who are tasked with checking hundreds of local taxis and autos every day,” said 59-year old RG Singh, a motor vehicle inspector at the Burari ARU. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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When HT visited the Burari centre on Wednesday, initial work on a driving track had started. The track will be used by driving licence applicants of the Mall Road RTO, about 6.5 kilometres away. At present, tests in this RTO are conducted on the main road to Timarpur. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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“The proposed institute will offer training to interested participants through high-tech simulators. A theory-based course and an interactive one are being planned. The automated test track and the track of the nearby heavy vehicle training institute will be used for hands-on training,” said an official working on the project. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)