NIC selects Ahmedabad RTO for launching pilot project
A long wait and serpentine queues at Road Transport Offices (RTOs) across Gujarat will soon be a thing of the past. For, the State Transport authorities have mooted a proposal to introduce online registration of applications for learning licence by vehicle owners/drivers on the lines of passport offices.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC), Hyderabad, which is developing a special web-based module for the registration of learning licences, has selected the Ahmedabad RTO for launching this project on a pilot basis.
“The project will be the first of its kind in the country. The NIC today informed us that the Ahmedabad RTO has been selected for introducing this project on a pilot basis. The NIC team is busy developing a web-based learning licence registration module that is likely to roll out by February next year,” State Transport Commissioner S J Haider told Newsline on Monday.
Haider said that if the Ahmedabad experiment succeeds, an online registration of applications using the same software could be introduced in rest of the RTOs in Gujarat. This module is expected to help vehicle owners obtain learning licence quickly and without facing any hassles.
Ahmedabad Regional Transport Officer Atul Gor said that after an online registration is done by vehicle owners, the RTO would give them a specific date and time to pay the registration fees at the office and also appear for the driving test.
The entire exercise will take just 40 minutes or so to issue learning licences, Gor said, adding, "Under the existing system, it takes at least six hours to complete this procedure that involves filling and checking of application forms, registration of documents, the use of biometric machine and conducting driving test."
"Once we succeed in implementing this project, the Ahmedabad office may introduce online registration of applications for issuing ‘pucca’ driving licence to vehicle owners as part of a pro-people approach our department has adopted," he added. At present, the Ahmedabad office issues nearly 300 learning licenses daily.
