Pay Rs 300, take first-aid training to get driving licence in Panchkula

“Though the capacity of the room is half the number of people that attend, we try to accommodate everyone who comes to attend it. On days when the number exceeds 70, we open up our balcony doors and put seats there,” said a volunteer of Red Cross, who was busy handing out forms to be filled for taking these classes and submitting the amount.

“Though, the organisation has been providing classes for a year, they were made mandatory from this month. Since then, we have been getting a lot of people everyday. It gets overwhelming as it is also an old-age home. They are mostly sleeping at this time and so many people coming in and going out, disturbs them,” says Amrik Singh, another volunteer.

While Amrik and other volunteers have their own problems, the people coming in, especially from economically weaker backgrounds from the villages near Panchkula have their own story to tell.

Eighteen-year-old Rinki, who came on Thursday to avail a permanent licence, and her father were directed here after they had gone to Saral Kendra at Sector 1 in Mini Secretariat.Rinki’s father Ramesh Saini said, “I have taken an off day from work to come here from Barwala. I thought I would be able to file in an application today but I was directed here. Now nobody gets a date for test without submitting the receipt for Rs 300 there. I will now have to apply for an off for another day. I cannot even afford to pay so much. I don’t know since when has this been made compulsory and why.” Several others who walked into the centre raised the same issue.

The volunteers of the organisation, who expressed dissatisfaction over charging money for the class, said that they had received a regular from the SDM (Sushil Kumar) to start collecting money.

When contacted, Sushil Kumar, said, “ This is a nominal fee that is charged for the services the people avail. The red cross is a non-profit organisation which is always running short of money. This will prove as an added resource for them to carry out their charitable works.”

Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, owing to the upcoming assembly elections, was unavailable for a comment both Wednesday and Thursday.

When asked about the amount being charged, former Transport Commissioner Virender Dahiya, who initiated the process, said, “I did not issue any letters that talked about any amount being charged. I was not even aware of it.”

Joint Transport Commissioner Meenakshi Raj said she had no idea about the money being charged. After looking into the facts, she said, “The Central Motor Vehicle Act,1989 clearly mentions that the training is necessary to be taken and further forwarded a letter signed by district red cross president and sent to DC Panchkula to send people for training to red cross and requesting Rs 300 be charged from them, which will help the Red Cross Society.”
When contacted, Gian Chand Gupta, treasurer of Red Cross, Haryana, was initially unaware of the amount being charged.

Later he said that the notification had been issued by Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, who is the chairman of Red Cross Haryana, though he was not aware if other districts were charging money.

If estimates were to be made, the test that began from September 1 with an average attendance of 70 people per day, must have generated a revenue of at least Rs 4 lakh.

While commenting on the Motor Vehicle Act, lawyer Vijay Pal Gulia at the District Court Panchkula, said, “The act definitely mentions that a first-aid kit is to be kept in your vehicle and you have to pass the first-aid test to procure a driving licence. But nowhere, does it mention that a three-hour long class is mandatory.”