NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Soon, you may not have to go to a tout or an agent to get your car registration done or to obtain a duplicate registration certificate or even an NOC to transfer your vehicle. These services would soon be available at the click of a mouse.
In the next four months, the transport department will migrate to an advanced web-based system, which is being developed by Goa Electronics Limited (GEL), for all its services that will also enable one to make cashless transactions for payment of licence fee.
The website will also allow people to fill up forms online from their homes or offices and fix appointments as well. Currently, while the forms are available over the counter, filling and submission has to be done physically at the RTO office, leading to a huge rush. State RTOs witness 1,000-2,000 visitors daily on an average.
Once the new system is in place, an applicant will have to approach the RTO office with a hard copy of the submitted form and relevant documents, only on the date and time allotted to him or her. Services like seeking a change of address, duplicate RC, NOC, learner’s licence, hypothecation cancellation will become online.
There are 12 RTO offices of the transport department in the state. An official said that the move would ensure hassle-free services to Goans.
Officials in the RTO said that the new system will make the procedure easy, similar to the system existing in passport office. “Electronic submission of forms at this moment is available with the passport office. We want to bring the same system in the RTOs. This will take atleast four months. Talks are also underway with nationalised banks for payment gateways to be incorporated in the new website,” officials said.
Apart from easing the rush at RTOs, online submission of forms is also intended to reduce the influence of touts. “If all the facilities are made online, people would not need to go to an agent. Ever since the passport office has implemented the online submission system, agents and touts have vanished from the office,” said a senior official from the transport department.
Presently, there is no proper redressal mechanism, with daily queues witnessed of at least 40 to 50 applicants running from one desk to another, haplessly seeking redressal at different RTOs. Currently, for obtaining a driving licence or transferring a new vehicle, people have to rely on representatives of driving schools or touts due to the tedious procedure at the RTO offices.