The Regional Transport Office (RTO), Pune, has set up eight common service centres (CSC) in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Solapur. The centres will provide the RTO with related services for those who are not well-versed with online services. The move comes in the backdrop of frequent complaints from residents about online fraud. The RTO had sent the proposal to the transport department in December, which was approved recently. The RTO has started five centers in Pune and two, one in Pashan and Hadapsar, are to be inaugurated next week. The centre in Solapur will be inaugurated on July 17.
More than 40 services of RTO can be accessed through online portal ‘Vahan 4’ and ‘Sarthi 4’. Since starting of these portals, all manual processes have been closed by the Regional Transport Department. Officials said since the closure of manual submission of forms, some agents have started exploiting those who are technologically challenged. Thousands of applicants approach agents to get their work done who are charged arbitrarily. In this backdrop, the RTO has decided to start the CSC in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and talukas also.
“They (applicants) do not have to go to a cyber cafe or any agents for online service, as they can complete the procedure at CSC that have been set up across the city. The State Transport Department has introduced digital services, which is a good initiative. We are providing the training to the staffs of the centers” said Babasaheb Ajri, RTO Pune.
“The agents were charging arbitrary from these applicants and RTO had received several complaints from the residents. The CSC will provide the service to those who approached for online procedures and they will charge only Rs 100 for service. The service will help to curb these agents” said Ajri.