Village secretariats to issue driving licences

Vijayawada: As part of the decentralization of services, the Transport department has decided to extend the services through the municipal ward and village secretariats in the State. So far, people used to get driving licences, registration of vehicles, payment of vehicle taxes, etc through the Transport department offices located across the State.

Now, the Transport department will extend services through 440 ward secretariats and 845 village secretariats in the State. It may be noted that the ward and village secretariats played a key role in identifying and convincing the Covid patients to get admitted to the Covid centres and the hospitals in the first three months after breaking out of coronavirus and helped the State check the cases. The village and ward secretariats are rendering services to the local denizens in the municipalities, cities and villages on payment of taxes, sanitation, medical and health services.

Deputy Transport Commissioner M Purendra said on Thursday that 56 types of services will be extended through the secretariats. He said so far digital assistants, welfare secretariats were appointed and training has been given to four staff from each district on extending services from secretariats.

These master trainers will train the staff in the ward and village secretariats in the State. Purendra said the middlemen and broker system can be eliminated if the transport departments services are extended to the ground level and the people can visit the nearest ward and village secretariat offices to obtain driving licences, payment of vehicle taxes, registration of vehicles and other services. He has appealed to the people to avail the services of transport department at the village level and discourage the brokers and middlemen to get services.