Agents near the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) offices in Hyderabad are charging high amounts from people who need a Demand Draft (DD). These agents take advantage of people’s hurry or inability to go to a bank. Visitors to any RTA office are paying between Rs 300 – Rs 700 extra to these agents for a DD of a specific value.
The RTA offices collect payments in the form of DD for various reasons, such as seized vehicles, second vehicle tax, entry tax for vehicles from other states, and violations of the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA). Many applicants have complained that they are paying double the amount for the DD compared to the actual service value.
According to the Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union, the motor vehicle inspector (MVI) checks and reports any violations and decides the penalty for such vehicles. The vehicle owner then needs to get release orders from the MVI and obtain a DD in favor of ‘Secretary RTA (RTA area office)’ to pay the compounding penalty.
Motorists who are unaware of their options end up paying more money as they don’t want to miss their time slot. Agents and officials take advantage of this and overcharge customers. For example, some brokers charge Rs 300 for a DD worth only Rs 50 or Rs 100.
One applicant, Ashok, shared his experience at the Bandlaguda RTA office. He had to pay an extra Rs 500 because officials insisted on him getting the DD from the person at the office, even though the bank only charges Rs 50. He didn’t want to return the next day, so he paid the extra amount.
The corruption is especially prevalent in busy RTA offices like Khairtabad, Uppal, Bandlaguda, Medchal, and Ibrahimpatnam. There are multiple people near these offices making Rs 10,000 or more every day by selling DDs. This practice is not allowed, but it continues to happen.
The department should consider implementing online payments or allowing payments at MeeSeva centers for these services. This would help eliminate the need for agents and reduce corruption in the RTA offices.
