City transport dept will videograph driving tests

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party government has decided to videograph the practical tests conducted for motor vehicle licences to bring more transparency in the process of issuing driving permits, the Delhi high court was informed on Monday.

The government told a two-judge bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar that the entire exercise has been put into operation in all the 13 zonal offices of the transport department. It added that an agency has been appointed to record the videos.

The transport department also apprised the high court that the videos of the driving tests would be uploaded on its website.

Noting the submission, the court said the step would bring in more transparency in the entire mechanism and would go a long way in allaying the apprehension of corruption. It directed the government to file a compliance status report in eight weeks and posted the matter for next hearing on May 22. The government had earlier told the high court that it has taken steps to control the issuance of fake licences and has also revoked the licences which were improperly granted. The transport department had displayed the list of such revoked licences on its website. It has also taken steps to ensure compliance of provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, it said. The high court was hearing a PIL filed by activist Pawan Kumar, who has alleged that some corrupt officials of the state transport department were issuing driving licences to untrained and unskilled persons after taking hefty bribe. There has been a spike in the number of road accidents, leading to death of innocent persons owing to the issuance of direct heavy transport vehicle driving licences to unskilled persons, the PIL had said.