KOCHI: Fast Track Counters opened under the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) to provide hassle-free and time-bound services to motorists are not functioning. According to the sources with the MVD, the constant intervention by the middlemen lead to the current state of the innovative system which launched a year ago.“The department is under the clutches of middlemen and they operate clandestinely with the help from the insiders,” said a MVD official. According to the sources, most of the people in the queues outside the fast track counters are middlemen.“The queue takes a long while to move as middlemen bring upto 30 cases to be processed at a time. The middlemen pay a commission of around Rs 30 to the clerk at the counter for each case. This delays services to individual motorists who do not seek the help of the middlemen,” they said.According to the sources at the MVD, there are around 160 middlemen within the department. “It is due to the rush at the counters and time-consuming procedures, that people resort to the services provided by middlemen,” they said.They also added that it is difficult for people to track every small change in law which makes them dependant on the middlemen.The official with the MVD said that the only way to make the situation better is to facilitate e-payment which would lessen the number of people visiting the counters and thus, lowering the number of those seeking services of middlemen.However, T J Thomas, RTO, refuted the statement. He said that the Fast Track Counters are working efficiently without any intervention of any middlemen.
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