The ways of 'sarkari' department

Surinderjit Singh Sandhu

It was my first meeting with the Deputy Commissioner after assuming the charge of District Transport Officer. The young DC, who was from the South, asked, ‘Do you know how to drive any vehicle?’ I was taken aback by the question, as I immediately grasped the significance of the query. He shot another question, ‘Have you any experience in automobile engineering?’ After I refused, he put me at ease saying that there was hardly any DTO in the state who knew all about driving or working and fitness of automobiles. He exhorted me to acquire sufficient knowledge to do justice to the job.

On the very first day, there were so many papers to sign that I got jittery. The clerk, who had the charge of issuing driver’s licences, had reminded me of the pending files. The registration certificate (RC) in charge had also shown restlessness as I did not clear a single file. There were about 10 bundles of hundred files each of driver’s licences. I randomly perused some and came to know that the permanent addresses of the persons were from other districts. The medical certificates also appeared to be of only one doctor.

I decided to issue the licence and RCs after interviewing the person concerned. That was like a bombshell in the office as there had never been any complaint. The complainants would make a beeline for the DC’s office whenever I went for checking. The DC also got agitated on getting so many complaints. As I entered my office one morning, the DC’s peon beckoned me towards his room.

Such calls were always dreaded. As I was ushered in, the DC handed me his licence for renewal, along with the form and fee. I assured him that the needful would be done. I called the person concerned and handed him the licence for renewal.

Earlier, each clerk was in the habit of working to a set pattern. The agents would hand over the papers to the clerk concerned, along with the money. Gratis papers like that of the DC’s licence would be looked down upon with contempt and tossed or thrown in heaps of sundry papers. But I had stopped this practice, thereby annoying many.

The next day, the DC’s peon came and said, ‘Saheb da licence de deo ji.’ I immediately called the clerk and asked about the licence. He went back, but did not return. I called him again. He enquired which licence I was talking about. I told him about the DC’s licence. He acted as if I had not given him any paper. I called other clerks, too, but they seemed amused at my predicament. The licence could not be traced in the office. The licence had been issued by the DTO, Patiala. With great difficulty, I got its duplicate copy, renewed it and handed it over to the DC, explaining to him the entire scenario.

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