HYDERABAD: The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) which claims to be citizen friendly is failing in providing space for parking for those who go to its offices for availing various services. Every day, thousands of vehicle owners visit RTA offices for transactions including driving licenses, vehicle registration, fitness renewal, permit, and many more. But, several RTA offices in Hyderabad do not have enough parking space, and as a result of which those who go to the offices, are being forced to park their vehicles outside.
The reason why RTA offices face a shortage of parking spaces is that they operate from rented buildings. According to sources, RTA offices in Malakpet, Rangareddy, Tolichowki, Ibrahimpatnam, Medchal, and Kondapur were running in private buildings which have no place for parking.
In the RTA Hyderabad East Zone office (Malakpet) located in Moosarambagh, there is no proper space, and vehicle owners are parking outside. With this, traffic police are issuing challans to violators for roadside parking. The situation is similar in other RTA offices. There are a total of 11 RTA offices in the Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.
In the Secunderabad RTO office, many autos which were parked outside for fitness renewal were imposed with penalties. The situation is worse at Tolichowki RTA, where fitness inspection is performed on the road as there is no space available on the office premises.
It is learnt that the District Collector has sanctioned land for the construction of an office for Hyderabad East Zone in the Amberpet MRO office. However, there is no progress in this regard due to the funds crunch. As of now, RTA offices in Uppal, Secunderabad and Khairatabad were operating in government buildings.
Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union General Secretary M Dayanand said that RTA higher authorities should inform police not to issue challans for vehicle owners who go to RTA offices until the proper parking is provided. “Why should applicants pay the traffic challans for availing themselves services at RTA? Isn’t it the responsibility of the government to provide parking space for vehicles?” he asked.