Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Regional Transport Office (RTO) will conduct interviews of over 2,500 eligible candidates for renewal of autorickshaw permits from Monday. Pune Regional Transport Officer Jitendra Patil said that during the course of the interviews, other than scrutinising the documents, the candidates would be checked for their proficiency in Marathi also. Renewal of autorickshaw permits in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad has been held through lotteries. At least 2,500 autorickshaw permits were up for renewal in Pune and 545 permits were up for renewal in Pimpri-Chinchwad. In Pune, as many as 88 of the autorickshaw permits were reserved for women. In order to get the letter of intent, applicants have to produce their documents as well as pass a test of proficiency in Marathi as prescribed by the Motor Vehicles Act. The renewal fee for autorickshaw permits is Rs 11,000 which Patil said has to be paid through demand draft. The interviews would start on Monday and would be completed by the end of the week, with 500 interviews being conducted every day. “We would be holding the interviews in batches of 10 and to check for working knowledge of Marathi the candidates would be required to read certain passages. For uneducated candidates, we will be asking questions,” he said. Police verification of almost all the candidates have been completed he said. In view of the interviews, the transport and non-transport divisions of the RTO would be closed for some days.
