Hassles faced by the general public at regional transport offices in West Bengal are soon to be a thing of the past with the government deciding to provide services from vehicle registration to learner licence online, state Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty said on Saturday.
He said that the plan to turn state transport undertakings in West Bengal fully environment-friendly by 2030 will receive a boost with the induction of 1,180 electric buses in the near future.
“In a bid to do away with people’s harassment at regional transport offices (RTOs), we have decided to make services from vehicle registration to learner licence or permits available through online mode,” Chakraborty said at a press conference here.
Things can be done from the comfort of people’s homes. These steps will help both the general public as well as those in the transport business, he said.
Chakraborty said that to move in the direction of reducing vehicular pollution, e-charging points and CNG stations will be set up across the state.
“The state has already entered into an agreement with Tata Motors for 1,180 electric buses which will start arriving soon,” he said.
Chakraborty said that 1,000 e-cabs will also be introduced by a private service provider in Kolkata soon. The minister said that for services like ownership change of vehicles, interviews of seller and buyer will be done through the virtual mode and they do not need to come to the RTOs for the purpose.
“Vehicle registration, learner licence, fancy registration number, special permits for commercial vehicles, hypothecation cancellation, duplicate registration certificates, State Transport Authority (STA) permits, etc will be provided online within a fixed time period after submission of requisite documents through the same mode,” he said. These online services will be made available in about a month, Chakraborty said.
Stating that he is sympathetic to the hardships faced by private bus operators in the state owing to increase in diesel prices over the last few years, the minister said that keeping in mind the requirements of the general public, the government is not inclined to increase fares.