DRIVING CHANGE | CS advocates digital transformation in transport management

Jammu, Jan 18: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Thursday said that automation and digitisation were the way forward towards better management of the transport sector.

Chairing a meeting to review the working of the Transport Department along with its allied activities of traffic here, the chief secretary impressed upon the officers that the technological interventions and digital services were pivotal for ensuring hassle-free, time-bound, and flawless working of the transport department here.

He said that modern technology had made many strides in this field and there was still scope for making the functioning of this department seamless by invoking such advancements.

Dulloo said that to obtain flawless results in the issuance of driving licences and fitness for vehicles, technology could play a very indiscriminate role.

He said that the department had an added responsibility of ensuring smooth plying of traffic on the roads which could evenly be taken care of by the intervention of Artificial Intelligence and other smart solutions.

The chief secretary emphasised the optimum use of such measures as adopted in other regions of the nation for making the transport sector vibrant and progressive.

He called for bolstering the technology with strict enforcement of rules and legislation for obtaining the best results on the ground.

Dulloo also advised for efficient use of road infrastructure and manpower to reduce the occurrence of mishaps, thereby saving lives lost due to road accidents.

Secretary Transport, Niraj Kumar informed the chief secretary that the department had made much advancement in offering services to the people.

Dulloo was apprised that the services related to both driving and vehicle operations had been made online offering around 53 digital services by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD).

He was informed that the department had switched over almost completely to online and auto-approval mode in providing the services to the people to reduce the footfall in the office of the RTOs and ARTOs across J&K to encourage paperless, cashless, and faceless transactions.

The chief secretary was told that as far as the working of J&K Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) was concerned, it was explained that the implementation of the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) portal (www.starbus.jk.gov.in) was launched to streamline plying of its bus fleet and its availability for the people.

He was informed that the portal offers seven modules - Online Ticketing Facility and Management, Web-based Current and Counter Booking Management, Route Schedule Management, Employees Database Management, Real Time Fuel Pump Management System, Real-Time Management Information System (MIS), and Public Information System (PIS).

The chief secretary was told that for the convenience of the travellers a mobile app had also been developed for both Android as well as IOS, wherein tickets could be booked from any comfort zone of the traveller.

He was informed that the process of hosting the app on Google Playstore and Apple Store had also been initiated by NIC which would be completed shortly.

Regarding the Road Accident Victim Fund, the chief secretary was told that the objective was to provide immediate succour to the dependents, kith and kin, and legal heir of the persons left dead or injured in road accidents.

He was informed that a relief amount of Rs 1 lakh in case of death, Rs 75,000 in case of permanent disability, Rs 50,000 in case of grievous injuries, and Rs 10,000 in case of minor injury was to be given to the next of kin or the victims themselves as the case might be.

Shedding light on the future roadmap of the department it was said that the operationalisation of the Institute for Driver Training and Research (IDTR) at Samba, the setting up of Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs), the establishment of Automated Testing Stations (ATS), customisation of IRAD in a way that enables first responders in an accident to send alerts to all the departments would be done.

The department also aspires to launch eDAR for the collection of road accident data for efficient processing of claims for accident victims, thereby reducing the time taken in settlement of claims for road accident cases.

It also delineated that it was looking into going for auto approvals as per the guidelines of the PSGA, scrapping redundancy for better quality interfaces in the issuance of drivers’ licenses and registration certificates by making the process paperless as in Assam and Andhra Pradesh for ease of doing business.

It also looks for the promotion of electric vehicle policy for J&K besides the use of AI for ensuring road safety by the introduction of Project Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering (iRASTE).

Secretary Transport; IG Traffic; DIG Traffic Jammu; and MD JKRTC also attended the meeting.