THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though driving licences have been digitised in the state, the motor vehicle department has increased the service charge sharply to ensure that the revenue does not come down. The service charge has been increased from Rs 60 to Rs 200. The increase comes at a time when digital copies can be downloaded free of cost through the central government's software.

The licence printing charge was Rs 200 earlier. Of this, Rs 60 went to the printing contractor and the remaining Rs 140 went to the motor vehicle department. Printing charges have been eliminated with the digitisation of driving licences. However, by increasing the service charge from Rs 60 to Rs 140 to reach Rs 200, the increase is such that the department will continue to get the same amount. The digital licence was approved by the government after the contracting firm stopped printing due to the increase in printing charge arrears.

Earlier, a total of Rs 505 was charged with a licence fee of Rs 200, Rs 200 as form fee, Rs 60 as service charge and Rs 45 as postal fare. According to officials, when they switched over to digital, they changed it to Rs 200 for the licence and Rs 200 as service charge. So the explanation is that even though the service charge has gone up, the total charge has come down by Rs 100.

Increased, even though there is no additional cost

1. The finance department had suggested that revenue should not go down while digitising the licence. That is why the service charge was increased and the financial loss was avoided. The state government makes a profit of Rs 80 crore in one year by incurring the cost of printing the licence.
2. There is no cost to the state government in providing a digital copy of the licence. The software used belongs to the centre. Copies are made available free of cost on DigiLocker and MParivahan using this software.