Reforming the RTO

Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) have become a pain point for the new, mobile Indian. A long overdue area for reform at the RTOs is the treatment of private vehicles plying in outside their state of registration.

In this era of globalisation, people move to different cities in search of jobs, many outside their home states. It is when they take their vehicles along that their travails begin.

First is the requirement of a ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) for the vehicle from the home state, which in turn requires police clearance.

Once that is submitted to the RTO in the new state, the papers are then submitted to the old RTO for clearance. Only once these processes are over is re-registration of the vehicle done.

How long this takes is anybody’s guess. It’s usually at least a few months, apart from the hassles of multiple visits to the RTOs and filling up a maze of different forms.

Such a complicated process also gives room for touts to grow and prosper. Meanwhile, on the road, when a traffic cop sees a vehicle with other state registration, he stops it and often levies fines.

The other alternative which a few states offer is to pay a lifetime road tax all over again, even after paying the same in the original state of purchase.

Technically it is stated that refund can be obtained from the state of purchase, but that is easier said than done. In a few states, it is stated that one can drive vehicles registered in other states for only for a month, while others allow them to ply at the most for a year.

There are ways to to do away with the laborious processes, while ensuring that the interests of society at large are not compromised. First of all a live national database of vehicles needs to be created, which can be accessed by any RTO at any time from any part of the country, with the rights to update the data.

Second, we need to create a new system of a pan-India ‘national’ registration, charging a suitable premium. Once registration is obtained under this scheme, the vehicle should be allowed to freely ply in any part of the country.

Informal surveys with a few employees revealed that the IT sector (techies) will wholeheartedly adopt this process as also transferable employees of the Central Government and Public Sector Undertakings.

In case of movement across states, a simple email or letter to the RTOs concerned requesting for updating the data on the place of use along with some proof should be enough.

Or in the worst case scenario, a form with supporting proof of change of address can be submitted to the new RTO. This information should be updated on the national database of vehicles. When the new government has stated that it proposes to do away with gazette officer attestations, is also working on the national portability of mobile numbers, and when the Employee Provident Fund (EPFO) is working on Universal Access Number (UAN), it is high time that the Government applied its mind to this area.

The writer is with Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune

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