Technical glitches in the Sarathi and other vehicle-related software systems have disrupted services at the Subhash Bridge, Vastral and Bavla RTOs in Ahmedabad, leaving more than 12,000 applications pending over the past month, according to RTO sources.The technical problems have affected several services, including vehicle ownership transfers, re-inspection, fitness certificates and other vehicle-related applications.
The Subhash Bridge RTO has the largest backlog, with around 6,000 applications pending, while the Vastral and Bavla RTOs have about 3,000 pending applications each. Many citizens have reportedly been forced to make repeated visits to RTO offices due to delays in processing.
The prolonged delays have also raised concerns over the alleged return of middlemen at RTO premises. Sources claimed that some individuals are offering to speed up the processing of applications in return for money, despite the official ban on agents operating inside RTO offices.A Subhash Bridge RTO official said the technical issue is affecting RTOs across Gujarat.
The Transport Department has taken up the matter with the Centre, and officials expect the problem to be resolved soon.The issue has also affected the online transfer of vehicle ownership. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has made ownership transfers fully online with mandatory Aadhaar-based authentication.
However, discrepancies between names on Aadhaar cards and Registration Certificates (RCs) are reportedly leading to authentication failures, causing applications to be rejected or remain stuck in the system.