[rav11stars]

No offence and I'm not pessimistic, but if there's an organization in MH that's going to become completely online that would be the RTO.

[Subhasish.jena]

I agree, the decision was one taken in haste and it may be also a case of gaining political mileage. I was a sufferer yesterday at Pune RTO, stood there for close to an hour to check the status of my RC, which has been sent to me via post and yet to arrive. Honestly, the distance between the RTO and my residence is 15 km, a snail would have delivered faster that these people.
Plight of the common folk is an afterthought for authorities. I saw a lot of folks being bounced around from desk to desk with no prior knowledge of whom to approach. Surely, the state of affairs need an thorough appraisal. And, what about them who have paid agents to carry out their work, but are now left hanging.

[ambivalent_98]

I am really shocked pleasantly. RTO without agents in MH would be like a market without any sellers. They are so deep rooted into the system that they are impossible to get out. If the government can really get them out the first affected victims would be the people working in the RTO.
Its a vicious circle. In management terms you can call it win-win. The government employees in the RTO and the agents both support each other and win-win .
I had a harrowing experience in the Pune RTO. Its a long story which I won't give here but to summarise , I did not take the agent route. I had to get my license (smart card) printed. The agents controlled that section completely and I pretended to be a relative of some RTO officer and took my case paper and got my license printed.
When I asked who the technician was , he was sitting in a corner playing games and the agents were doing the job the government servant is supposed to be doing. I got my work done but it is a sad state of affairs.
Apart from this I know so many people who failed the test but still got their drivers licenses the same evening thanks to agents. Also can you imagine with agents you can get an international driving license in 1/2 day.
If the current government can throw these guys out , kudos to them.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Subhasish.jena

I agree, the decision was one taken in haste and it may be also a case of gaining political mileage.

Actually it was required and was in waiting for a long time. Sometimes the change is inevitable and the resistance to change is natural process. I dont think there is any political mileage out if coz its been a department initiative. Even the Transport Minister who had made some useless comments regarding legalising the agents had to eat his words when the media riled him about the same. By approaching an agent, people themselves support corruption and then they cry hoarse about too much corruption within the department.

I am sure the RTO will have a dedicated help desk to help people in the coming days. The day when one doesnt have to visit RTO for silly reasons is not far since the change to automate has begun.

[Subhasish.jena]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Actually it was required and was in waiting for a long time. Sometimes the change is inevitable and the resistance to change is natural process.

I welcome change and governments action to make RTO a corruption and agent free space. In my opinion, there should be a proper way of rolling out change rather than 'one fine morning lets do something' kind of reaction. Rather than shocking the common man, they should educate and make them comfortable with change. The harassed party was the common man, the agents beat a quick retreat as it was not their responsibility to get the work done.

[funkykar]

Ohh NO!

I recently bought a Padmini S1 from Nasik and agent there yet to apply for NOC (Owner was out of town for few weeks hence process not started. Agent told its mandatory for owner to come to police station with Govt. ID and sign there hence the dependancy)

What am I in for now? I had promised the owner that getting NOC done thought agent will be my responsibility when initially he was apprehensive of out station.

Feeling bad now!

[GTO]

I welcome this move IF & ONLY IF the RTO streamlines its operations. I've visited the RTO twice in the last decade and - even with an agent - it's taken a lot of jumping from counter to counter.

USA Visa: In and out in 90 minutes. Similarly, got my driving licence in the USA in an hour or so. However, the last time I visited the Mumbai passport office for renewal (they did away with agents too), it took half of my working day.

When the RTO itself becomes quick & efficient, it's time to bid farewell to agents. Unfortunately, I don't have much hope, having seen the Tardeo RTO a couple of times. Businessmen & professionals simply don't have time to waste on a weekday.

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by turbodude

Salaried individuals will now have to waste a full day just to stand in long lines, being tense that if they miss out on any paper then another day is wasted . I just can't understand why the commissioner was allowed to take this decision without any backup plans. Long queues of citizens were seen in every RTO where this decision has been implemented so far.

I do not agree to this. A couple of visits actually does help individuals. We all want the stuff to be done in a couple of hours, and do not want to completely understand the process.

Yes, the process is a bit taxing, but it sure teaches us all a lot of things. I remember when getting my DL, there was a small booklet which had a lot of signs and other rule informations. It sure was not the entire guide, but was such an eye opener.

Yes, there were my share of problems as well. I had to visit the place atleast 5-6 times and each time, they came back asking for a document. (SSLC marks card, passport size photo; not stamp size, get the original marks card etc etc)
Also there were no boards anywhere with proper signage. You did not even know where to go, which form to fill.

Today, 80% of the people I see, cut the apex while turning right. 80% of them cut lanes when taking a curve on ringroads. Most of them took short cuts to get their stuff done at the RTO, and hence the anarchy that we see on the roads.

I feel, it should be stricter, also call for a re-examination of all current licence holders, maybe attend sessions on traffic and road safety, or take lessons on-line.

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by GTO

USA Visa: In and out in 90 minutes. Similarly, got my driving licence in the USA in an hour or so. However, the last time I visited the Mumbai passport office for renewal (they did away with agents too), it took half of my working day.

Crikey, I never imagined that USA visa process would come up as a benchmark for "efficiency".

I remember in the olden days, if there was one thing more dreaded than anything else, it was USA visa interview (I am talking 1990s and before now). No concept of appointment, just queue up from midnight and hope that you get a turn to go in. Once inside, no idea what documents they would ask for, so people would come with pretty much entire suitcases of irrelevant papers. If you were lucky, you would be done in 9-12 hours. General attitude of the entire staff (including the Indian security staff) was condescending and/ or abusive in the extreme.

Fortunately, the first time I went was in 1996 on a business trip when I was working for an American MNC, so I did not have to endure the torture that students used to suffer. If you lived in Mumbai, you may remember queues from the American consulate stretching about 1km right up to Haji Ali at like 5am in the morning. My father flatly refused to travel to the USA if he had to ever go for a visa interview; fortunately for him, he always got the visa without interview because he had an official passport.

Anyway, if they have managed to improve their process, I guess there is hope even for our humble RTO. Trust them to make our life miserable till then. The agents provide the GREASE to streamline the RTO operation, which is now being withdrawn. Unless the process is totally revamped, it is impossible to imagine spending hours at RTO trying to get work done. I currently have a RC transfer pending (Andheri to Tardeo, corporate to individual) and I am dreading the possibility that it gets stuck at the RTO in this chaos.

[invidious]

For the record, I've had to spend the last 4 months to get a simple procedure done for a car from the Andheri RTO. It was done through an "agent" and apparently if not through him I would still be waiting. The entire operation of the agents and the corrupt babus is like a well-oiled machine. I hope that it is broken for good. The agents actually had the cheek to build illegal structures in the vicinity of the RTO premises which were "agent offices". Apparently those have been demolished. I hope this entire process is streamlined once and for all.

[scopriobharath]

If someone buys a new car, the dealer registers the same for the customer. In this case, the dealer and their team are "agents" for the customer. An Agent is anyone authorized or deputed by the customer. So, When one buys a new car, would it be expected that the owner should register the car on his own?

[dreamliner17]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

We all want the stuff to be done in a couple of hours, and do not want to completely understand the process.

Yes, the process is a bit taxing, but it sure teaches us all a lot of things.

I absolutely agree with you vinya_jag.

Its a harsh fact but 'we' ourselves are to be blamed to a certain extent for this increasing dependence on touts/agents. We are soo intimidated by the fact of going to the RTO and getting any procedure done by ourselves. Thanks to our busy life , hectic schedules and and almost nil patience levels, we seldom realize that we ought to 'understand the process' of how things work. A little know-how here and there certainly helps to understand the situation better ! After-all, the agents are not born with the 'various application processes' embedded into their heads at birth
It's just that they know,over the years, which part of the form is to be signed where and by which authority/officer. I understand this is not easy to find for an individual/private vehicle owner like us and neither am i trying to say that it is a fairly easy process; all i wish to say is we need better knowledge about the process. Streamlining is one great way to deal with this and i have a good feeling that we are on the correct path.

It's not just 'we' who are troubled by the process but taxi/auto and commercial vehicle owners as well. I have seen taxi/auto/commercial vehicle drivers also running helter-skelter at RTO's and taking help of agents. This entire frenzy combined with people running everywhere adds to the chaos , confusion and irritation. Having spent many days in MH01 authority RTO (Tardeo) and MH03 authority RTO (Wadala) , for the issuance/renewal of licenses for various people in my family , i can say that the sight looks nothing less than a treasure hunt . Utter chaos everywhere!

Let us take another perspective. The officers sitting at the desks receive hundreds or maybe thousands of applications(there are around 24 different legend classes of vehicles in Maharashtra;can be found on the backside of the smart card licence) daily by both men and women and to my surprise some of them act as if they have come to visit a garden ! Firstly no documents in place and on top of that they are 'counselled' by the agents on how to answer questions infront of the issuing authority/officers ! That is the level of dependence we bestow on the agents ! So ultimately , this attitude has prevailed and become a way of life for both - the vehicle owner and the agent.

To conclude, Transparency and Streamlining is a probable solution, IMO !

[Passiautonate]

I am confused at this move and not sure to be happy or sad.

I went to Pimpri Chinchwad (Pune PCMC) RTO for a NOC cancellation for my Fiesta. With all documents including affidavit as mentioned on the RTO website I tried to get done on my own. As expected it was a day long process with new RC supposed to deliver in few days. But to my horror and surprise RTO signatory asked to get police verification done. Also they wanted to check authenticity of signature and stamp given by Delhi RTO. Clear he was losing his commission if we are getting it done on my own. When I referred that all documents are in order as written on your notice board and website he blatantly wrote it down on my original NOC.

No other choice I had to revert back to agent who in meanwhile increased his fees to 2.5k as supposedly he needed to help in police and CID verification.

Still my work is not done as supposedly all touts are on strike.

Well If I remember there was something called For the people, By the people, To the people. What echos now is every law in this country are against the mango people.

- Rich still use Black Tinted Windows while common Alto guy has to suffer in May summer
- Poor IT chap with a 4 lac car has to give LTT at each nook and corner he goes. A BMW series 5 chap roam around in PY registration (Banglore people will know)

Final closing- I wanted my Shapath Patr (Affidavit) for NOC cancellation like this-

For last 2 years my car was used with NOC. Now as the car is old I want to sell it and for that i need to cancel the NOC. As per my understanding NOC is something if you get you are out of India's jurisdiction. You can claim an NOC and can be party to any crime without worrying about authorities. In then end you can pay a tout 300 and get an affidavit in the language you don't understand and neither anyone will read. State your innocence and get back to business.

Jai Hind
A Frustrated Non Resident Indian (NRI) of North India, A Refugee (Immigrant) in Rest of India

[KAY24]

I do believe that the removal of agents may be good in the long term while it will lead to short term pains. I am a victim as my new car is stuck for registration at Andheri RTO for 10 days. Also, the dealer rep shared that the windows of a couple of cars were broken in protest at the RTO this Friday. Plan to go there on Tuesday to get my car registration done. Do hope that process enablers and removal of information asymmetry make RTO interactions a lot more efficient over time. At least, this is a step in the right direction. The move from black tickets for movies to the Book-my-shows, or railway ticket agents to online ticketing and the make-my-trips, or the passbooks to netbanking- all took time. I would rather be patient and hope that the powers that be have the conviction to carry it through to its very end.

[ghodlur]

Ever since the directive of making the RTO's in Maharashtra touts/agent free, the RTO website has gone some good changes with details of various tasks being put on the website. This was there earlier too but in a distributed manner and no steps for the tasks detailed in.

There are now two sections - License related work and Vehicle related work. Under each section the relevant tasks are a click away. Clicking on any tasks details the Forms to be submitted, the fees required, the steps to be taken and the documents to be submitted. The only thing that is missing from this information is the SLA (Service level agreement i.e approximate time taken to accomplish the task).

http://mahatranscom.in/Index.aspx