Demand draft mafia at RTA offices

There is no provision for agents to sell demand drafts to consumers; however, the practice is flourishing in the RTA offices

The next time you go to an RTA office in the city be prepared to carry a demand draft along or be ready to shell out four to five times the commission that banks charge. Taking advantage of consumers being in a hurry or unable to go to a bank to get a demand draft, agents charge anywhere between Rs 200 to Rs 500 from consumers.

“I wanted a DD for Rs 6,000 towards penalty imposed for not going in for fitness and pollution for an eight-seater vehicle. I just had an hour left and did not want to return to the RTA the next day, so I gave Rs 300 to the agent while the bank charges just Rs 50,” said Rajender a consumer at Tirumulgherry RTA.

While there is no provision for agents to sell demand drafts to consumers, the practice is flourishing in the RTA offices. CLN Gandhi, former additional transport commissioner says, “Tax amount should be payable only by DD while cash is accepted for fee. There is a demand for DDs especially in the case of number reservation.”

Mithilesh, a resident of Gudimalkapur who recently paid tax for a vehicle he owns says, “Consumers would not mind if agents demand Rs 50-Rs 100 but it is not the case. If they find someone is in dire need they just charge heavily.” Ramesh, a bank manager with a nationalised bank on condition of anonymity said, “If an account holder approaches a bank there is no limit on the number of DDs but if someone comes to remit cash managers usually allot just one or two DDs.”

“There are also exceptions, if the bank manager feels that the customer is trustworthy and would not misuse the DDs on rare occasions multiple DDs are issued,” he added. According to rough estimates, agents take home anywhere between Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per day just by selling DDs. Raghavan, a retired RTA employee says, “A few years back there used to be a State Bank of India branch at Khairatabad RTA office, but for some strange reason it was removed.”

The demand of DDs increases multifold when owners of school and college buses approach the RTA to pay tax. Though there is a provision to pay tax through e-seva, but if there is a delay, the amount is not accepted and the consumer is advised to approach the RTA and pay through a demand draft.