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Govt nod to online payment at DTOs

By Rituraj Borthakur

GUWAHATI, April 29 - The government has given its nod for operationalizing online modes of payment of various fees and taxes at the district transport offices in the State.

Official sources said the transport department will soon sign an agreement with SBI epay and NIC for installing the online payment gateway.

�Long queues at the DTO offices will be a thing of the past. Once the system is put in place, people need not go to the DTO office to deposit any payment, like licence fee, renewal fee, registration fee and other payments,� a senior transport department official told The Assam Tribune.

The software for the online payment gateway is in the process of being developed.

The official said the IT intervention will help bring transparency and check harassment and delays for which the DTO offices have a dubious distinction.

�It will also help plug the revenue leakages. The process of procuring a licence will be now similar to that of a passport. People can book slots for the driving tests online after making the necessary payments online,� he said.

Moreover, the online payment system will give the transport department a real-time assessment of revenue collection on daily basis. �Now, the accounting takes time and we don�t get the real picture. The receipt book concept will become history,� he said. There is also a risk involved when an official carry cash from the DTO office to the treasury, he said.

Meanwhile, the transport department is also set to take dealer-point registration of vehicles mandatory for all automobile dealers.

�As of now, only some dealers in five districts of the State offer the service. Once all dealers start giving the service, the load on the DTO offices will also reduce and it would also ease the vehicle registration procedure,� sources said.

The transport department has organized a training for the dealers from across the State on May 4 and 5 next for the purpose.

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