Santhosams - the order of the day:

Dept drives new applicants round the bend

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

The Department of Motor Traffic, popularly known as RMV (Registration of Motor Vehicles) is the sole body responsible for the registration of motor vehicles and issuance of driving licence in Sri Lanka. Like many other government departments that deal with public registration work this too has a long standing reputation of involving in malpractices such as forging documents and soliciting bribes to issue a licence.

Multiple cubicles at the licence application receiving centre

However, prolonged negligence of the competent authorities and politicians for decades have made this office teeming with numerous types of brokers who solicit money to get almost anything done for the visitor, even out of protocol. Even a Cabinet Minister recently admitted that it is the most corrupt government department in the country.

The Department of Motor Traffic is divided into two offices, namely, the Registration of Motor Vehicles in Narahenpita, the head office, and the Driving Licence Issuing Section in Werahera, Piliyandala.

The registration of motor vehicles, garages, motor vehicle dealers, transferring vehicle ownerships, imposing taxes on luxury and semi-luxury vehicles, approval of motor vehicle prototypes and emission testing are some of the services rendered by the RMV in Narahenpita.

Issuing of driving licence, renewal and extension of driving licence, conversion of foreign licence to local and conversion of old driving licence to new ones are some of the services carried out by the Driving Licence Section in Werahera. There is a special fee structure for each service that the two offices provide as categorised in the department information website.

However, carefully studying several complaints received against malpractices in these offices and carrying out its own investigation, the Sunday Observer understands that the public has to pay extra sums of money apart from the mentioned fee to get things done in these offices.

It is evident at the driving licence issuing section in Werahera where applicants have to pay extra cash in the form of bribes to pass the practical driving test.

The department charges Rs. 1,700 from a fresh applicant seeking a driving licence in one vehicle class.

The applicant has to appear in person at the main office in Werahera or district offices countrywide with the National Identity Card or Passport as proof of identity together with the Birth Certificate.

A medical check up is conducted by an MBBS Doctor to ensure that the applicant is eligible to drive a vehicle.

A digital photograph of the applicant is taken by the interviewing officer, along with the fingerprints and a form required to be filled by the applicant.

After filling the form stating the class of vehicle in which he desires to obtain his licence, the said amount has to be paid to the cashier to get a date for the written test.

After the theory test has been passed where an applicant has to get 30 answers right out of 40 multiple choice questions based on road rules and the Motor Traffic Act, a date for the practical test or the trial is given after three months.

A learner's permit is issued following the theory test and within the said period the applicant can learn to drive with a person holding a valid driver's licence seated next to him.

The trial can be conducted in any private vehicle, but the vehicle has to be registered with the Department of Motor Traffic as a learner's vehicle used for practical tests. Since private applicants do not have registered vehicles they are advised to hire one of the many learner's vehicles parked outside the Werahera office for a specific fee.

Private learning school vehicle owners charge Rs. 1,000 from an applicant to use their vehicle for the practical test. On the day of the trial the applicant has to pay this sum to the learning school vehicle owner and get a vehicle booked for the trial. Then the applicant is advised by the vehicle owners that if they wish to pass the test Rs. 1,000 has to be given to the examiner, who would not otherwise pass the applicant no matter how well he performs at the trial. Several applicants who took part in a recent trial told the Sunday Observer that they had to pay Rs. 2,000 to the learning school vehicle owner who arranges to bribe the examiner for Rs. 1,000.

The Werahera office holds two rounds of practical tests a day, one in the morning and one at midday. Normally, a vehicle owner gets several bookings for a single trial from applicants with different index numbers on the admission paper. One examiner gets about 10 to 12 applicants if it is a busy day with about 100 applicants selected for a single round of trial. Therefore, the vehicle owner has to ensure that all the applicants who hired his vehicle will be examined by one examiner although the order of their index numbers are different.

He gets the trial admission papers of his applicants sorted in one group with the assistance of clerks. From the Rs. 1,000 he receives for the vehicle Rs. 250 is allegedly paid to the clerk for each applicant's number to be enlisted according to the required order.

The admission paper is then given to the applicants who wait outside the premises. One will notice a "right tick" marked on the corner of the paper with a bright highlighting pen by the office. This is allegedly to give a signal to the examiner that the applicant has paid the sum of Rs. 1,000 to pass the trial.

The applicants are then asked to go to their respective vehicles and wait for the examiner to conduct the trial.

An applicant who wished to remain anonymous said he was failed merely because he had chosen not to pay Rs. 1,000 to the examiner. The learning school vehicle owner had told him afterwards that the examiner was not happy since he had not paid the amount. He repeated his trial on a different date paying the Rs. 1,000 and got through the test, he said.

This is not the only allegation of corruption against the issuance of licence. There is a series of other malpractices in the process of applying for a licence handled by both outsiders and the department staff who seem to have a mutual understanding.

One driving school owner who hires his vehicle for the trials outside the Werahera office premises on the grounds of anonymity revealed that from the first step of applying for a licence upto the practical test the entire process will be taken care of by them and that the applicant need not worry about anything.

He said there is a full package for Rs. 25,000 in his driving school where he gives a full training in driving with a promise to get the licence by any means. Instructions will be given on all the paperwork related to the application and even an invigilator will be arranged to secretly pass the answers to the test paper during the theory test if the applicant feels unable to face it.

A friendly examiner is arranged for the practical test, who will definitely pass the applicant. Responding to rumours of being able to get the licence even without the applicant sitting the theory or practical test, he said it is not possible any more with the new electronic driving licence. Also the driving licence is now computerised making it impossible to carry out such rackets.

It is reported that there are about 10 examiners daily for trials and two trials are held a day. If 200 applicants turn up for both trials a day an examiner would get to test at least 20 applicants a day. If every applicant pays the sum of Rs. 1,000 an examiner earns approximately Rs. 20,000 a day. If trials are held on all working days in a month he would earn approximately Rs. 400,000 which is an alarming figure.

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[Charges for services at the Werahera Driving Licence Section]

*New Driving Licence – one class of vehicles Rs. 1,700
New Driving licence – Two classes of vehicles Rs. 2,000
New Driving Licence - Three or more classes of vehicles Rs. 2,250
Reapplying for the written test Rs. 250
Reapplying for the practical test Rs. 500
Fine for delaying the extension of the period of validity of the driving licence by 1 year Rs 250
Inclusion of a new class of vehicles in the driving licence Rs. 1,700
Inclusion of 2 new classes of vehicles Rs. 2,000
Inclusion of 3 new classes of vehicles Rs. 2,250
Altering personal details of the driving licence Rs. 250
Obtaining an extract (information sketch) of the driving licence Rs. 500
Converting the driving licence issued under the old system to the new system Rs. 1,700
Issuance of a local driving licence on a foreign driving licence (for a Sri Lankan) Rs. 2,500
For officials of the foreign diplomatic service Rs. 1,700
Insurance of a temporary driving licence for a period of one month, on a foreign driving licence (for a foreign national) Rs. 10,000
Issuance of a new driving licence for a foreign national Rs. 15,000
Additional charges for the one day service Rs. 500

Source: DMT website

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