After protests, RTO?may cut fees for DL, fitness certificates

Bengaluru, Apr 15: Fees charged by Regional Transport Offices for various services, including driving licence, fitness certificate and vehicle registration, will come down from next month following protests against the steep hike effected in January.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy took the decision on Thursday following a meeting with leaders representing associations of lorry owners and transporters. The department is yet to disclose the revised fee structure. Reddy, however, said that the revised fee will reflect a marginal hike.

Fees for various services went up in January after the Centre issued a circular suggesting the hike, with fees for some services going up by five times.

The learners’ licence fee was increased from Rs 30 to Rs 150 while the fee for DL shot up from Rs 50 to Rs 500, including the fee for driving competence test. The fee for registration of new vehicle (RC) went up from Rs 25 to Rs 50 with an additional Rs 200 charged for smart cards.

Transport associations protested against the hikes as the RC fee for a four-wheeler was hiked from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 and the fitness certificate cost doubled for medium and light motor vehicles.

Truckers who were on strike last week met the transport minister three times seeking a rollback or marginal hike in the fees. “The minister has assured us that the hike will be a marginal one. We hope that will come true,” said South Zone Motor Transporters’ Welfare Association president G R Shanmugappa.

Officials of the department said they were preparing a proposal which will be sent to the minister soon. “We have reduced the fee for various categories and services. The proposal will have to be cleared by the minister and the finance department,” a senior official said, but refused to disclose the revised fee.