Post-lockdown, RTO officials expect driving licence applications to flood in

After two months of closure, RTOs are expecting a flood of drivers' and learners’ applications when the relaxation comes into effect next week.

Senior officials said the 67 Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) were receiving 100 applications a day on average, which was disrupted by the lockdown. Data also revealed that the transport department had issued 20 to 22 lakh licences a year.

“Each month, we get at least 70,000 applications,” a source in the RTO head office told DH. “Despite the fear of the pandemic, we received more than one lakh additional applications when the unlock measures were announced after the first wave. During the (end of) second wave, we expect 70,000 to 1.2 lakh applications.”

With the moving of bookings for learners’ and drivers' licence tests online to the Vahan portal, a major part of the paperwork has been cut down. But officials have to work double time to meet the surging demand for licences.

Narendra Holkar Additional Commissioner of Transport, said the portal will be opened in the next few days. “We are awaiting guidelines from the government,” he said. Another official said additional slots will be provided to clear the large number of applications.

“We need to allot additional slots for testing and reviewing to clear the piling applications. Besides vehicle registration fee, DL smartcard is a good source of revenue for the department,” the official added.