In a move which is being seen as an attempt to restore the image of the transport department, the State administration transferred the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) of Dehradun Dinesh Chandra Pathoi and attached him at transport commissioner’s office. The assistant transport commissioner, Rajiv Mehra, would be the new RTO of Dehradun.
The decision to shift Pathoi was taken late on Saturday night by the Government. The new incumbent Mehra is not new to the problems and challenges of RTO Dehradun as he had acted here as Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) in the past.The decision to give marching orders to Pathoi was taken in the backdrop of adverse comments of the High Court (HC) on various issues. On Thursday last week the HC summoned the RTO for a personal appearance and pulled him up on the issue of granting stage carriage permit to Vikrams and Tata magic. The RTO also faced flak for failing to check touts in his office.
The city bus union which was vocal in its opposition to RTO and regularly alleged about corruption in its office, welcomed the decision to shift Pathoi. President of city bus union VV Dandriyal said corruption was rampant in the office and being the head of office Pathoi was responsible for the irregularities.