BangaloreOne or BengaluruLast?

Bengaluru: BangaloreOne centres are considered to be one-stop service providers for several civic services, including Regional Transport Office (RTO) related documents, but the centres are not updated with data from different agencies. As a result the public is being made to run from pillar to post. RTO officials in particular fail to update data as they want people to approach their office for monetary gains, alleged a city resident and dentist Dr. Keshav Kumar.

“I had approached a BangaloreOne centre at HBR Layout and applied for the B Register Extract (Rule 48 of KMV Act 1989) for my second-hand Tata Sumo which I purchased recently. I applied for a B register extract to check if the name had been transferred to my name. Since the details were not updated I was forced to approach KR Puram RTO at Bhattarahalli,” he said.

“The transport department is one of the most corrupt offices. People have to shell out money even to obtain learners’ and driving licences. Besides, no service comes without paying extra,” he alleged.

Things were even more shocking at the KR Puram RTO. The officials there asked Mr. Kumar to pay a fee of Rs 10 to obtain the B register extract and collect it after three days. After persistent requests the clerk there demanded Rs 100 to issue it. One of the reasons why officials fail to update data at the BangaloreOne centre, is that they want the public to approach them for services, he alleged.

Speaking to DC, transport commissioner Ramegowda said that the transport website is being redesigned to offer better services to the public. Earlier, the website was outsourced and was also being redesigned. This could be one of the reasons why the details are not updated. Services like e-payment, licence, fancy numbers, smart card and others are being upgraded and updated. In the next two weeks, the public will get hassle-free services, added Mr Ramegowda.

Another resident said that utility bills like telephone, Bescom and water bills do not get updated from BangaloreOne centre to the main server. As a result the public keeps getting the bills and sometimes their services may be snapped.

‘RTO officers most corrupt’

Regional Transport Organisation under the transport department has the dubious distinction of being the one of the most corrupt government departments, besides stamps and registration department as per the complaints posted by public on ‘Ipaidabribe’ website.

Of the 34 departments which are primarily listed on the website, the transport department stands second in the order of corruption and netizens have vented their anger against the officials for failing to react in time or demanding bribe from public.

The officials demand bribes of issue and renewal of driving licences and for issuing B register extract. Some incidents even go unreported, as their work gets done after they pay up, said Venkatesh Kannaiah, a senior editor for Ipaidabribe.com.

First and third in order of corruption are police department, mostly relating to passport verification, followed by stamps and registration department. The other reason for more registering of complaints in metros like Bengaluru, Bombay, Chennai and Delhi may be because of education level and internet penetration, Venkatesh said.

There is also positive side. Some have put their foot down against paying bribe and decided to fight against the menace. There are also exceptions where officials are extremely friendly and serve public without making them run from pillar to post, he added.

Fighting corruption

ipaidabribe.com is a unique initiative by Janaagraha, an Non Government Organisation (NGO) to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens. The forum has received certain complaints and has honest officers too.

Total reports on website 12,358
Total amount as bribe 31.32 crore
Number of persons paid bribe 7181
Number of persons fought bribe 780
Number of honest officers 364