New system for returning suspended driving licence in Delhi

What happens when you get challaned and your driving licence gets confiscated? And then even after the stipulated three months, you don't get your driving licence? For all those waiting for their suspended driving licences (DL) to reach them even after three months, the Delhi government's transport department is all set to 'centralise' the system. Every year around 10,000 licenses get misplaced in transit.

Under the proposed system, the driving licences confiscated by the Delhi traffic police for violations will be sent directly to the transport department headquarters every month instead of being sent to 13 regional transport offices (RTO) in the city separately. The department plans to outsource the task of sending the DLs back to the owners via speed post for which a tender is likely to be floated this month.

Every year the traffic police seizes over 50,000 licences, said officials. In 2017, the police had seized 53,000 licenses.

According to officials, they get regular complaints from people saying they haven't received their licences even after six-seven months of suspension. Under the existing process, the traffic police after confiscating the DLs takes a month to write to the concerned motor licensing officer (MLOs) who will then issue show-cause notices to the violators in another 15 days, after which the license is suspended. After almost three months they send the physical DL back to the RTO to be returned to the violator.

"The entire process used to stretch to six-seven months during which the DLs would get misplaced most of the times. We now plan to centralise the whole system where all the confiscated DLs will come directly to the department. We plan to rope in an agency to do the compiling and send them to vehicle owners via speed post within 90 days. The plan is at the initial stage," said a Delhi government official.

The government had only last year created an online software to help people track their suspended lincences on a real-time basis. However, since the licences would get misplaced while changing hands in different departments, it was planned to centralise the system.

"The RTOs also receive licenses from others states of Delhi vehicle owners being challaned for traffic violations there, which too will come to the headquarters once the plan is approved," the officer said.

ONLINE SOFTWARE

The government had only last year created an online software to help people track their suspended lincences on a real-time basis. However, since the licences would get misplaced while changing hands in different departments.