Top sources affirm that the new Regional Transport Office building at Subhash Bridge is designed to appear even better than Ahmedabad airport, with three test tracks for each four-wheeler and two-wheeler, an air-conditioned building with more seating, and an enormous parking area.
To be built at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore to expedite services to the public, the foundation stone for the RTO building will be laid by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on November 19, said sources at the Roads and Buildings department.
“The date is more or less certain but the ceremony can also take place a day or two around the date,” said sources.
“The old structure of the RTO that existed has been demolished completely in the past seven days on a war footing for the foundation stone laying ceremony by the CM. The building itself will look like the Ahmedabad airport. In fact, it will be much better than the airport,” sources in the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department told Mirror.
“The construction of the building will be completed within a year to 15 months. The old building has been entirely demolished and the debris removed. Excavation work has already begun and the foundation stone for the new building will be laid soon,” they added.
Inordinate Delay
It may be noted that there was an inordinate delay in the construction of the new building by the R&B department. This was further delayed after work came to a standstill owing to Covid-19 lockdown. The RTO functioned from the rented adjoining building.
The building will be a four-storeyed structure with a ground floor dedicated to public services like licence and registration and three floors for administration and other offices. “The built-up area will be about 5,000 sq m,” said sources.
Three tracks each At present there is one track each for two-wheeler and four-wheeler driving tests. The new RTO building will have three tracks each for four wheelers and two wheelers, sources told Mirror. “At present 265 driving tests for two-wheelers and 370 for four-wheelers are handled by the RTO daily in the one track available for each. The new RTO building will handle three times the tests. So, roughly 800 four-wheelers and 1,110 two-wheelers can be handled. This will drastically reduce the waiting time for the driving tests and enable more people to get their licences without hassle,” sources at the RTO told Mirror.
Seating facilities
The new RTO building will have seating facilities for 500 persons, much higher than the present number. “The present footfall at the RTO is roughly 1,000 persons through the day. The seating facilities will be more than enough to handle the traffic. Each person in the queue will have a seat and besides, the entire building including the ground floor, which is for the public, will be air-conditioned.” Adequate water coolers and sanitation facilities have also been planned There will be parking facilities for more than 200 vehicles.