Hyderabad, August 14: A visit to the nearest Regional Transport Authority (RTA) centre will enlighten you to the concept of legalised looting.
Though RTA authorities have a prescribed fee for services, applicants always end up paying more. Surprisingly, a receipt accompanies such a dubious transaction.
The experiences of several persons who had applied for renewal of their driving licence tells a similar tale. Besides, it also came to light that the fee collected from each applicant varies, though the service sought from the transport department maybe the same.
Shaik Mujeeb of the Old city had applied for renewal of his licence at the Bhadurpura RTA. He was asked to pay Rs 875 which includes the late fee, as he applied one month after expiry of his licence. However, another applicant Shaik Ismail of Ali Ja Kotla had also approached the same RTA centre for renewing his licence. His licence had expired more than a year ago. But luckily he ended up paying Rs 775. The fact is both the applicants had paid more than the actual prescribed fee of Rs 475, according to challans which Expresso has received.
For instance, the application fee charged from Ismail was Rs 300 whereas Mujeeb had to pay Rs 200. Similarly, the late fee collected from the former was Rs 150 but the latter paid Rs 300.
Due to computer errors in Tier III and the ones committed by staff, applicants end up paying more. Despite all this, the card might not be issued even after several months of applying. As per the transport department charter, the driving license should arrive within 24 hours of applying for renewal.
Meanwhile, Indira Auto Drivers Association general secretary A Ganapathi Rao and Auto & Motors Welfare Association general secretary M Dayanand said everyday applicants are facing extreme difficulties. “In July, the transport commissioner asked a three-member committee to look into the discrepancies which have been putting applicants into difficulties. But till now, the members have had no time to visit any RTA centres to address the problems,” Dayanand said.
–Agencies