Now, get driving licence through registered post

Come September 1 and transport department will deliver the driving licenses through registered post, just like passports or other identity documents, instead of giving it directly to the applicants. This has been done to check the rising number of fake driving licenses and the role of touts.

This was among the decisions taken by state transport minister Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh in a meeting with the officials of the department here on Thursday. The meeting also discussed preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation ( UPSRTC) will run 4,500 buses in the state for Kumbh pilgrims. Besides, it will keep at least 500 buses in reserve for emergency.

The minister, however, told the officials that running of buses for Mahakumbh should not cause any inconvenience to local passengers.

The corporation could also run private vehicles on contract basis, said the minister. Trained drivers and conductors will be deployed on the Kumbh buses. Transport commissioner Alok Kumar said for the easy movement of devotees during Kumbh, five additional bus stations will be set up in Allahabad. The main mela bus station will be set up at Jhunsi. Acting on the directions of the minister, Kumar has directed the department to tackle the problem of fake driving licenses with an iron hand and cut down the role of touts. He has issued orders to all the officers in the department and RTOs to ensure that documents of DL applicants are thoroughly checked. The officers and employees checking the DL documents will have to write "checked" on every document. Besides, the officers and employees checking the documents will have to put the stamp of their names and designations on the documents.

The officers have also been instructed to take an envelope with a postal stamp from every applicant who applies for learning/permanent or for renewal of DL. The address on the envelope should be same as mentioned on the DL application form.

The officers will also have to ensure that DL is not directly given to the applicants or to any other person but delivered through registered post to the address of the applicant. The department will have to maintain the record of driving licenses. The transport minister also directed for the transfer of employees who have been posted for three years in one section of the department to another section.

Source : The Times of India, Aug 31, 2012