Delhi Transport dept received nearly 2,000 applications for faceless services on I-Day

New Delhi, August 17

The Delhi Transport department received nearly 2,000 applications for driving licence and registration certificate-related documents on August 15 under its recently launched faceless services despite it being a national holiday, officials said.

The faceless services, including 33 different types of transport-related documents that can be applied for online, were launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by putting a symbolic lock on the IP Estate office, saying people need not visit the offices anymore to get their work done.

"Normally no official work is done in the offices on national holidays as the offices are closed, but this Independence Day, around 2,000 service requests were received in a faceless manner and many of them were approved," said a senior officer of the department.

There were 1,489 driving licence-related service requests and 462 concerning registration certificates. Also, there were 556 grievance messages received through the department's Whatsapp chatbot and 1,387 through helpline number 1076, he said.

The North Zone RTO at Mall Road received the maximum number of service requests related to driving licence. Out of 1,092 applications received by the North Zone office, 533 were approved, 133 are pending and 425 reverted, officials said.

The 462 registration certificate-related applications under different RTOs were pending on the day.

With Transport department services related to driving licence, registration certificate, permits and termination of hypothecation available online in a faceless manner, the government has closed down four RTOs at IP Estate, Vasant Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and Janakpuri.

The faceless services will provide freedom from long queues and touts at the RTO office to the people of Delhi, and all the work of the Transport department can be done online sitting at home, Kejriwal had said.

With the roll-out of this facility, all major services under the Transport department are now available online.

Delhi is the first state in the country to provide an 'online learner licence', through an artificial intelligence-based facial recognition software for ensuring maximum security, said Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister of the Delhi government.

The faceless services envision providing contactless, queue-less and hassle-free services to applicants applying online and getting work done without visiting any Transport department office.

People can avail a faceless service by logging on to transport.delhi.gov.in. The process is Aadhaar-authenticated and fees can also be paid online.

The document applied for will be dispatched to the applicants through speed post. They can also download it using a link sent to them through an SMS on their registered mobile phones. — PTI