Now, recover suspended driving licences online
HASSLEFREE New software to cut down on redtapism, help track licences real time
If you are one of the thousands of traffic violators yet to get back your driving licence even after three months of its suspension, there’s good news. The Delhi government is coming up with an online system for tracking licences on a real-time basis.
The software, developed by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System, will be launched next month and will ensure quick resolution of such cases. The rule of suspending driving licences for minimum three months was implemented by the traffic police and transport department based on the recommendations given by a Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety in 2015.
While the move did act as a deterrent with Delhi being among the nine states/UTs that actually saw a decline in road accident fatalities in 2016, it has left motorists and drivers hassled.
Ever since the SC order, as many as 2.42 lakh driving licences (DLs) have been seized by the traffic police, but instead of three months, almost every driver or motorist is getting back her/his suspended licence in six months or even more.
“It was in October when the traffic police seized my licence and asked me to collect it from an RTO after three months. Since then I am running form pillar to post. It is May now, but I still haven’t got my DL back,” said Ashish Parashar, a software engineer.
He added that the time of collection of the licence from the MLO also makes it nearly impossible for working people. “After months of harassment, you get just one hour (between 1 pm to 2 pm) to collect you licence and that too only from Monday to Friday,” Parashar said.
Those facing the problem said instead of making them feel like violators, the gruelling process has rather turned them into victims of red-tapism. The process is that the traffic police seizes licenses and sends it to the concerned Motor Licensing Office (MLO) based on the address mentioned in the DL. The MLO then posts a show-cause notice to the violator and after three months the person is supposed to collect it from the MLO.
“It is getting stretched to six months or more because the traffic police takes time in sending licences as they have to be segregated MLO-wise and then the MLOs take their own time in issuing show cause notices. The letters sometimes never reach the houses due to address change,” a government official said.
The online system will make it mandatory for all the related departments to act within a stipulated time frame. The traffic police will have to send the seized licences to the MLOs within a period of one week. The MLOs have been directed to issue show cause notices within a maximum of 15 days.
“Real-time data will be available on the Delhi government’s transport department website. People will get to track when and at which MLO their licence has been sent by the traffic police,” a traffic police official said. Data with them reveals that around 460 licenses are seized on a daily basis.