Can Kerala CM Satheesan break old curse of RTO's agent raj?
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 28
The tragic suicide of a 35-year-old autorickshaw driver in Malappuram has once again brought Kerala's long-running agent culture in the Motor Vehicles Department under the spotlight, with the deceased himself identifying the system as a major source of the harassment and alleged corruption he faced.
The question now is whether Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan's government can finally dismantle a system that successive governments, including the previous LDF administration, have failed to eliminate.
Shoukath, who was found dead at his home in Kizhisseri on Thursday, had alleged in a social media post before his death that he was denied a fitness certificate for his autorickshaw after choosing to approach the Kondotty Sub-RTO directly instead of through an agent.
He claimed that he had spent nearly 10 months trying to get fitness certification for his autorickshaw, leaving him unable to operate his only source of livelihood.
His allegations went beyond his own ordeal.
Shoukath described the agent system as a major source of corruption within the MVD and argued that much of the alleged corruption could be eliminated if the system was dismantled.
He also alleged that agents have fixed charges for several services and that such transactions are facilitated by officials inside RTO offices.
The system has long been an open secret in Kerala's transport offices.
Vehicle owners frequently depend on intermediaries for services ranging from fitness certification and ownership transfers to permits and other documentation.
The very existence of an intermediary layer between citizens and government officials has repeatedly raised questions over accountability, with allegations that unofficial charges have become part of the process.
Transport Minister C.P. John has sought a report from Transport Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam, while Chief Minister Satheesan has now ordered a comprehensive enquiry following the allegations of official harassment. Transport Secretary T.V. Anupama has been asked to submit a preliminary report within two days.
Opposition Leader, Pinarayi Vijayan, has demanded criminal action against the officials allegedly responsible and accused the government of betraying its election promises.
His political attack, however, comes with an uncomfortable backdrop, the agent culture was hardly eliminated during the decade of LDF rule when Vijayan was Chief Minister.
That makes the present crisis less a question of which political front is responsible and more a test of whether Chief Minister Satheesan can do what governments before him could not, i.e. break the nexus between agents and officials and make the RTO system genuinely accessible without intermediaries.
A mere enquiry into Shoukath's death may establish individual culpability.
However, unless the government tackles the deeper agent-driven system he himself identified, the tragedy risks becoming just another case file in Kerala's troubled RTO's history.
Chief Minister Satheesan spoke to the family of the deceased and has promised action, but the question is will he be able to wipe out the agent culture and that's what now remains to be seen.
— IANS
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