MAPUSA: A week may be a long time in politics, but it surely is a long time in the Mapusa RTO.
When Manuel Abreo of Mapusa renewed his driving license at the Mapusa RTO office, he was shocked to find that his license had been renewed for just five days, till his fiftieth birthday, which fell exactly five days later. Yes, that’s right.
But there appears to be indeed a method, to this madness. Abreo was told to return to the RTO on his 50th birthday and pay the fees for a second time, to get another driving license with a five-year validity period, which is all that anyone who is fifty plus can get.
The Mapusa RTO has claimed helplessness in the matter and blamed the blunder on the existing Motor Vehicle laws in force, thereby suggesting that such a problem could prevail at any RTO in the State.
Narrating his peculiar situation to Herald, Abreo said he had applied for renewal of his license with Mapusa RTO on September 2, after completing necessary formalities and paying fees of Rs 160.
“My driving licence was due to expire on September 8, 2014, the day I was incidentally completing 50 years. However, when I received my new driving licence Smart Card, I was shocked to see that my license was renewed for only five days, that is, till September 7, 2014.”
His ordeal did not end with the 5-day validity of his licence.
“When I brought the matter to the notice of the RTO inspector, he feigned ignorance and sent me to the assistant director of transport, who merely told me that it was a software problem. He asked me to come again after September 8, when I turned 50 years old, and to renew my licence for a second time. I had to pay the fees again for no fault of mine, after which he received his birthday gift of a five year license” said Abreo.
When contacted, Assistant Director of Transport M M Pilernekar insisted that the software programming had been done in accordance with the rules of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988.
“Section 14-2b(i) of the Motor Vehicles Acts reads, ‘If the person obtaining the license, either originally or on renewal thereof, has not attained the age of 50 on the date of issue, or, as the case may be, renewal thereof (A) be effective for a period of 20 years from the date of such issue or renewal; or (B) until the date on which such person attains 50 years whichever is earlier, (ii) if the person referred to the sub clause (i) has attained the age of 50 years on the date of issue or, as the case may be, renewal thereof, be effective, on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, for a period of five years from the date of such issue or renewal’,” informed Pilernekar.
In other words, if a motorist is 49 years and 364 days old when he/she seeks the renewal of his/her licence, the RTO has no option but to issue a licence with a one-day validity.
“Such driving licenses (smart cards) are issued by all offices of the transport department in the State in accordance with law,” said Pilernekar. “In some cases, licences have been issued with a mere two-day validity. We are helpless in this problem and the matter should be taken up with the higher authorities to rectify this anomaly.”
