Earlier, when you had to get your first driving license, the first thing you would do was go hunting for an agent. The next thing you know was you were stuck in a huge queue to collect your license. Getting a driving license made can be real hassle sometimes. District Transport Office (DTO) of Ludhiana has decided that students seeking for a driving license will not get it from the RTO office but from their own colleges.
In a meeting with several college principals on Wednesday, Ashwani Kumar Sharam, District Transport Officer said, “The state government has given the power to principals of government-run colleges to issue these licences while the principals of the private colleges will send us the required documents and fees and we will send them the licences.”
The district transport officer said, “This will decrease the huge rush that we have to face in our offices daily, improve work efficiency and more over students will not have waste their time standing long queues or fall into traps of agents. At the same time, this process will also ensure that each student who is driving a vehicle has a relevant licence and is not driving illegally.”
Interested students are required to submit a passport size photograph, approval letter from the principal in case the student belongs to a private college, medical certificate from a qualified MBBS doctor and a residence proof like a ration card, passport or an electricity bill. The student will have to pay a fee of Rs 30 for a licence for a scooter or a motorcycle and Rs 60 in case the student wants a licence for a car. Students below the age of 16 can apply for non-gear vehicles. The principals have been asked to collect information from students by July 8. Within a week, the learning licences will be available at the District Transport Office, from where they can be collected by the college’s representatives, thus reducing the load on the DTO.
This is surely going to help the students and will save their restless journeys to the RTO office and the bribe they have to pay to the agents and officers. But does the procedure ensure whether the recipient is trained enough to drive? What’s your opinion?