THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar has announced that the motor vehicle department will launch a Unified Counter System, under which the files in the department will be pooled and distributed for faster processing. The files will be distributed evenly within the department, irrespective of the RTO where the applications are submitted. This means that an application made in Ernakulam RTO will be processed by an officer in another district.
The minister said that file processing will become faster and corruption-free under the new system. “When the files get distributed evenly, the workload of officers will be less. It will also mean that if an officer is not clearing a file within five days, he or she is not incompetent,” said Ganesh Kumar. The new measures are expected to address the skewed work arrangement in the administration section, which faces a shortage of officers.
The minister also announced that the government vehicles will be shifted to a new registration number system. KL-90 for state government vehicles, KL-90 A for Central government vehicles, KL-90 B for local self-government vehicles, and KL-90 BC for vehicles of PSUs, boards, and corporations. All the new vehicles will be registered with the new number while the existing ones shall be shifted to the new registration regime soon, he said.
According to him, 503 new routes will be notified exclusively for private stage carriage operations. The routes, suggested by respective MLAs, are in rural areas. Meanwhile, KSRTC plans to purchase 10.5m-long buses with better mileage to operate in rural areas. He reiterated that MVD will stop checkpost systems at the state borders and instead use GST department’s cameras for permit-related works.
The minister also announced the government’s decision to retract its decision to offer free rides in autorickshaws with dysfunctional fare meters. “State Transport Authority decided to not to insist on pasting stickers offering free autorickshaw rides if the vehicle’s meter is dysfunctional. The government intervened and reversed the decisions following talks with the trade union representatives. However, the autorickshaws must display the approved fare chart,” he said.