KOCHI: The delivery of more than 10 lakh driving licences and registration certificates remains pending after the Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Palakkad -- entrusted with the task of printing and delivering them -- halted operations following a delay in the payment of nearly Rs 9 crore. To break the deadlock, the government has decided to present the issue before the next cabinet meeting.
Transport department sources said Minister K B Ganesh Kumar decided as people began to raise protests.
“The firm halted the printing of the plastic cards in mid-November. Though the new transport minister assumed office, the situation remained largely unchanged. However, the public began protesting as several vehicle owners were unable to sell their vehicles. Since the election is just round the corner, the government didn’t want to escalate the issue. The issue will most probably be discussed in the next cabinet meeting,” said a transport department official.
According to information received from the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD), besides the Rs 9 crore to the ITI, the government owes an additional Rs 3 crore to the Department of posts towards delivery charges for the two documents.
Unfortunately, the MVD left motorists in the lurch after collecting Rs 200 as the fee and Rs 45 as postal charges for issuing the registration certificate. Similarly, a service charge of Rs 120 and postal charges of Rs 45 was collected for the driving licence.
“This is an unfair approach by the government. How can they hold the documents for such a long time even after advance payment? This unfair practice will indeed question the existence of the MVD. Earlier, vehicle owners typically received their registration certificates within three days,” said a motor vehicle inspector, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, the government is planning to scrap the agreement it had with the postal department. “Though the order is yet to arrive, the government is planning to handle the delivery of the documents from the MVD office itself. Currently, the government owes Rs 3 crore to the postal department. This move will help reduce such expenses,” the officer said.
The MVD official pointed out that people are now relying on digital documents, which can be downloaded from the Parivahan app.