In yet another move to provide effective public delivery service at people’s doorsteps, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today launched 12 online services of Transport Department here at Raj Bhavan.
The Lt Governor also launched the e-book of the department elucidating the different services being provided to the people, besides the procedures for applying for the same to facilitate the general public.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor congratulated the Transport Department for this people-friendly initiative. With this initiative of electronic service delivery, there will be a reduction in public interface with department officials ensuring hassle-free services to the people in a transparent & accountable manner, he added.
Terming faceless, paperless and cashless services as the first step towards ‘Good Governance’, the Lt Governor said that we have introduced a new era of transparent governance in the transport sector.
Laying special focus on easing out the public delivery system in the Transport sector, the Lt Governor observed that the services like getting a ‘route permit’ or ‘procuring a learners license’ will also become a lot easier with the launch of these online services. The issuance and renewal of the trade certificates of Automobile dealers of Jammu and Kashmir has also been made transparent and simplified through online mode.
Pertinently, Dealer-Point Facilitation of registration of the Non-Commercial vehicles in the UT of J&K by the Department has been widely hailed by the general public. Similarly, online services were launched to facilitate people with smooth and hassle-free services.
The Lt Governor stressed upon the need to make adoption of e-services wider and the prevalent way of providing services to the common man.
Highlighting the progress being made by Jammu and Kashmir in the transport sector, since 2015, the Lt Governor said that in March 2016, the number of drivers’ license holders crossed the 10 lakh mark for the first time. At that time, the number of registered commercial vehicles crossed the 2 lakh mark. At present, the number of all categories of registered vehicles in Jammu & Kashmir is well above 20 lakh.
“I believe investments in roads infrastructure and transport facilities can help maximize the benefits of overall growth scenario. Road network transports more than 60% of all goods in the country and 85% of India’s total passenger traffic. Jammu and Kashmir has become number one in Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and our dream of linking each and every village with all-weather roads will soon turn into reality”, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor entrusting upon J&K Road Transport Corporation the expansion of their fleet of buses, and hoped that the government-run buses traverse 20 lakh Kms every month, increasing from its present average of 15 lakh Kms a month.
Further, the Lt Governor highlighted the four key measures initiated by the UT, in this regard, and said that by March 2021, 44 seater semi-deluxe buses, 20 seater deluxe buses, sleeper coaches and trucks are to be added to the fleet. Two major projects- the Institute of Driving Training and Research at Kot Bhalwal and the Inspection & Certification Centre at Samba will also be completed by March 2021. Inspection of accident cases, the fitness of commercial vehicles and training would become streamlined and expedited with the start of these two projects, he added.
The scheme, launched to mitigate the losses faced by the transport sector due to the COVID pandemic, has been implemented on the ground, after the announcement in September this year. We have provided assistance with respect to Insurance premium subject to a maximum of Rs.5000 per vehicle for buses/mini-buses, Rs.3000 for Taxis/Sumos, and Rs. 2000 for three-wheelers. We are also extending 50% subsidy or Rs.5 Lakh whichever is lower to the transporters for replacement of old buses, he continued.
Reiterating the Government’s commitment to provide sustainable livelihood to unemployed youth, the Lt Governor observed that a scheme ‘Mumkin’ has been launched under which youth are being provided zero margin money to procure mini-commercial vehicles.
In the first phase, J&K Government partnered with Ashok Leyland and delivered 10 such vehicles. Talks are on with the Tata Group in the same regard and they have also shown interest in implementing the scheme thereby helping develop the transport sector as well in providing employment avenues to the youth, he added.
The Lt Governor observed that the J&K Government is taking several measures to make the Transport sector in J&K more robust. J&K Taxi Aggregator Rules were notified in October this year and a detailed plan was made to provide 24×7 taxi services to the public. Uber has also shown interest in providing their services in Jammu and Srinagar cities. He also laid special emphasis on prompt redressal of all grievances with respect to the app-based taxi services.
The services launched today include- Issuance of duplicate Registration Certificate, Change of address in Registration Certificate and Renewal of Route Permits under e-Vahan Services; Issuance of Learners License, Extension / Renewal of Learners License, issuance of Driving License, Renewal of Driving License, Issuance of Duplicate Driving License, Replacement of Driving License and Change of particulars in Driving License under e-Sarathi Services; and Issuance of new Trade Certificate to Motor Vehicle Dealers and Renewal of Trade Certificate of Motor Vehicle Dealers under e-Trade Certificate services.
Sh. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lt Governor; Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Sh. Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Sh. Hirdesh Kumar, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Transport Department; Sh. Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Sh. Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; representatives of Transporter associations, dealers and officials of Transport Department were present on the occasion, in person and through virtual mode.