Clear pending cases, transport minister warns RTO officials

Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh conducted an unannounced surprise inspection of the Regional Transport Office at Raja Garden on Thursday. During the inspection drive, the minister found over 1,000 pending cases awaiting disposal and immediately directed officials to clear the entire backlog within 10 days, with a warning that negligence or failure to meet the deadline will invite strict disciplinary action against responsible officers.

Singh walked through the RTO’s service counters, reviewed the functional layout, audited pending applications, and directly interacted with citizens who had come to the office for various transport-related work, gathering firsthand feedback about administrative delays and bottlenecks.

He said the backlog was unacceptable and directed officials to submit a comprehensive compliance report within 10 days. “Directions have been issued to clear all pending cases within the prescribed timeline, and a detailed report has been sought within ten days. Any negligence or failure to reduce the backlog will invite strict action against the concerned officials,” he said.

Citizens at the RTO raised concerns about repeated visits caused by technical glitches on transport portals. Singh directed the technical and administrative teams to resolve the system errors on priority to ensure smooth processing for driving licences, vehicle registrations, ownership transfers, and related services.

He also directed RTO staff to stop calling applicants to the office unnecessarily. Since the majority of transport-related services are available online, physical presence should be required only in exceptional cases where document verification or presence is legally mandatory, he said.

The inspection follows citizen complaints about delays at one of Delhi’s prominent RTOs. Raja Garden RTO handles a large volume of applications from west and central Delhi, making its backlog a concern that affects a significant number of applicants who may have been waiting weeks or months for their cases to be processed.

The Transport Minister’s visit is part of a broader Statewide initiative by the department to monitor RTO functioning, improve accountability, and reduce the need for citizens to make repeated visits for services that should be processed within defined timelines. Singh said the Delhi Government under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is committed to providing transparent, efficient, and citizen-friendly governance and that all RTOs across Delhi will continue to be monitored.