Delhi to reopen 13 district RTOs and revive DL-13 registration series; DL-14 scrapped
The Delhi Transport Department announced a major restructuring, reopening 13 district RTOs to improve physical access. The DL-13 registration series returns as the DL-14 series is officially scrapped.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsIn a significant change to the administrative setup of the Transport Department of Delhi, 13 Regional Transport Offices (RTO) across Delhi will soon reopen; the new decentralized model will provide transport services to each of the city’s 13 revenue districts and improve physical access to residents.
In addition to this restructuring of the department, the DL-13 registration series will also be reactivated; the DL-14 series will be eliminated going forward.
Digital vs. physical access
Approximately 90% of the transport services in Delhi had been transitioned to "faceless" digital services in the months following the COVID-19 pandemic; however, officials agreed that a purely digital system has its shortcomings. Currently, there are only four RTOs in Delhi that are still open and able to provide services in person: Mall Road, Sarai Kale Khan, Mayur Vihar, and Dwarka.
"The department has successfully transitioned 33+ services to faceless mode. However, there are still reasons for the need for physical locations," said a senior transport official. "The restructuring of the RTOs will allow citizens to avoid travelling long distances to receive services that require physical verification or manual intervention."
Increased geographic availability of 1 RTO per district.
As per the orders issued today, the city will continue to have access to only 1 RTO per district going forward from this day on.
Expanding geographically and starting new regional transport office's
The city is moving away from central clustering into a district-wise approach according to orders released on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. 13 designated locations of regional transport offices (RTOs) have been created.
North/Central RTOs: Mall Road (Old Delhi), Wazirpur (Central/North), Burari (North).
South/West RTOs: Lado Sarai (South of India), Sarai Kale Khan (South East of India), Dwarka (South West of India), Hari Nagar (West of India).
East/Northeast RTOs: Mayur Vihar (East of India), Loni (North East of India).
Outer/RTOs: Jan Nagar House (New Delhi), Raja Garden (in the center of the city), Rohini-1 (outstanding North), and Rohini-2 (outstanding West).
DL131 return
The Department of Transportation will resume using a why they proceeded with a sequential numbering series from D13 to D14 that was stated as having ‘no administrative purpose.
In accordance with new legislation, RTO will resume using a sequential number of D13 and cease from using sequential number D14 as they are now restructured to just individual RTOs by city.
Services to remain face time
City is reaffirming that face-to-face during this reconfiguration of physical offices has not changed to be the dominant method for sending requests for transactions like learner's licenses, renewals, and transfers of ownership for vehicle registration due to RTOs (for long-distance or complex cases); there will be support centers for:
The physical RTOs will operate as:
- Support center for complex cases that need manual intervention.
- Centres for document verification and physical inspection.
- Locations for enforcement-related activities.
- Centres to assist citizens who have to rely on non-digital means for overall assistance.
According to the department, "Efforts are currently being made to get the necessary infrastructure, staffing, and digital connections set up prior to the implementation of services on a full scale. " The department expects the timeline for the operationalisation of the full operation of all 13 will be available in the near future.