NEW DELHI: In a major relief to e-rickshaw drivers and owners, the Delhi government has decided to do away with the appointment procedure to get the learning licence. The applicants seeking a learning licence for e-rickshaw can now directly approach the licensing authority without taking prior appointment.
According to officials, the applicants can now directly approach the licensing authority of the concerned zone between 2 pm and 4 pm on every working day after depositing necessary fees through the online software of Sarthi. The transport department has also issued an official order to all the RTOs this regard. “Delhi government in the past few months has brought in landmark changes to the way zonal offices/ regional transport offices (RTOs) have been operating in the city, with faceless services being launched for registration certificates (RC) and licence-related activities which are currently undergoing a trial.
The department is planning to scale this faceless service up to 70 essential services in two phases over the next few months,” said a transport official. “This is of significance in the backdrop of Covid cases rising in the city again. Besides, the transport department has also given the applicants an option to take the driving licence (DL) test on Sundays. This has been done with a view to facilitate officegoers who find it difficult to take DL test on a working day,” said an official.
Officials in the transport department said the order is likely to benefit a large number of applicants on a daily basis. Moreover, to promote electric vehicles under the Delhi EV Policy 2020, the government is providing a subsidy of Rs 30,000 on purchase of every e-rickshaw in Delhi. It is also planning to provide a 5 per cent interest subvention on loans taken through the Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC) on the purchase of every such vehicle.
“In the past few months, the government has brought in multiple improvements in the way transport services are provided traditionally. The department is putting in its best efforts to monitor any realtime issues and guide applicants on any difficulties they might face in shifting to the new system. We aim to have a seamless system which would successfully do away with any waiting time,” said Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.