CHENNAI: Flagging major irregularities in the issuance of driving licences, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has alleged that as many as 10,060 two-wheelers were used for conducting driving tests for issuing licences to operate private buses, omni buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles in Tamil Nadu.
The CAG report tabled in the Assembly on September 8 was based on a field audit conducted at Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) between July 2024 and April 2025 and analysis of official data from the VAHAN and SARATHI portals and other relevant records.
The CAG noted that vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 12,000 kg are classified as Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs), and RTO officials are required to assess applicants’ skills and knowledge to operate such vehicles competently while issuing driving licences.
Buses, trucks, lorries, and other such vehicles are categorised as Heavy Motor Vehicles. However, the audit found that 37,462 vehicles belonging to other categories — including cars, jeeps, vans and 10,060 two-wheelers — were used in driving tests conducted for issuing HMV licences.
The state transport department, in its reply to the audit in August last year, said it would seek explanations from the officials concerned. However, no report had been submitted to the audit authorities as of December last year, the CAG said. However, the audit report did not specify in how many of these cases HMV licences were eventually issued.
‘Many RTOs conducted over 100 driving licence tests a day’
A senior transport department official attributed the discrepancies to possible clerical and data-entry errors. “Applicants may sometimes wrongly select the HMV option while applying, and employees of third-party agencies working at RTOs may mistakenly mark such tests as conducted.
In most such cases, the driving licence would not have been issued. However, in some instances, HMV licences may have been issued. The matter has been taken up with vehicle inspectors and is being examined,” the official said.
The audit also found that several RTOs conducted more than 100 driving licence tests in a single day. According to the prescribed norms, completing such a large number of tests would have taken more than 24 hours, raising questions about whether the tests were actually conducted in accordance with the rules. As per the norms, a driving test requires a minimum of 10 minutes for light motor vehicles and 15 minutes for transport vehicles.
An analysis of SARATHI data showed that between August 2021 and May 2024, motor vehicle inspectors conducted 100 or more driving licence tests in a single day on 1,526 occasions. Such instances were recorded in 49 of the state’s 91 RTOs, accounting for 54% of the offices.
During the audit period, Marthandam RTO in Kanniyakumari District recorded more than 100 tests on 450 days, followed by Chennai West (KK Nagar) on 299 days, Chennai South West (Valasaravakkam) on 247 days, Tiruchirappalli West on 85 days, Chennai South (Thiruvanmiyur) on 65 days, and Tambaram on 55 days.
The audit also identified serious discrepancies in the age details of driving licence holders. An analysis of SARATHI data showed that in 872 cases, licences were issued to persons whose recorded age was below 16 years. In some records, hypothetical or incorrect birth years such as 2026, 2042 and 2049 had been entered.
