Ahmedabad RTOs hit by technical glitches, Over 12K applications pending

Ahmedabad: Technical glitches in the ‘Sarathi’ and other vehicle-related software systems have disrupted routine services at the Subhash Bridge, Vastral and Bavla RTOs, leaving more than 12,000 applications pending over the past month, according to RTO sources.

The technical issues have severely affected services including vehicle ownership transfers, re-inspection, fitness certification and other vehicle-related work.

The Subhash Bridge RTO has the highest backlog, with around 6,000 applications pending, while the Vastral and Bavla RTOs have approximately 3,000 pending applications each. Citizens have reported making repeated visits to RTO offices due to delays in processing their applications.

The prolonged delays have also raised concerns over the alleged return of middlemen at RTO premises. Sources claimed that some individuals are offering to expedite the clearance of applications in exchange for payments, despite the official ban on agents at RTO offices.

Meanwhile, a Subhash Bridge RTO officer said the issue is being faced by RTOs across the state. The Transport Department has raised the matter with the Centre, and officials hope the issue will be resolved soon to reduce inconvenience to citizens.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has made vehicle ownership transfers fully online, replacing the offline process with mandatory Aadhaar-based authentication. However, mismatches between names recorded on Aadhaar cards and Registration Certificates (RCs) are causing authentication failures, resulting in thousands of applications being rejected or remaining stuck in the system. DeshGujarat