Driving licence renewal to go online

Hyderabad: Now get your driving licence renewed without coming to the RTA office as the Telangana Transport department is planning to allow the citizens to renew their licence online and with self-certification of medical condition.

According to sources, the department officials have evolved a software for making the renewal of driving licence and also to make a few other facilities online and sent the proposal to the state government for approval. Until now citizens must visit the RTA offices for getting their licences renewed.

The citizens over 50 years of age had to get a medical certificate from a doctor stationed in the RTA offices. Now the citizens can give self-certification regarding their health condition and can renew their licence as per the new system.

The licence holder has to upload his existing licence to department website and also send a photograph for issuing new licence, said a senior official in the department. "All the preparations have been made and we are ensuring there are no mistakes when it gets operational. After getting approval from the government, the new system would be implemented," said the official.

The department was planning to make 32 services online, but they were moving cautiously for a fool-proof system. There were reports that the dealers in Andhra Pradesh had allegedly swallowed the vehicle tax hence the department is taking all precautions, the official said.

The other services include transfer of ownership, tourist permits and so on. The software would be designed in such a way that the vehicle owner would get certificate only after payment of the prescribed taxes and fees in the registration and permits category.

The idea is to decrease the rush of the citizens to the RTA offices and provide hassle-free services to the motorists, the official said. Regarding the medical certificate, the official, said that the onus of making sure the vehicle owner certifies himself instead of a medical officer. The new system would be implemented once the department gets approval from the state government, the official added.