Former tourism and devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran was supposed to 'call the attention' of transport minister K B Ganesh Kumar to the problems faced by the freight transport industry and workers in that sector in the Assembly on Friday.

Instead, Kadakampally used the 'Calling Attention' motion to rant against the office reforms made by Ganesh Kumar, which according to him was putting the public to so much trouble. He wanted the reforms withdrawn. The minister, without being overly harsh, told the CPM leader that he was essentially speaking for touts.

Kadakampally had three issues with Ganesh Kumar's reforms. One, the creation of a single service counter in regional transport offices (RTOs). Two, closing motor vehicle offices in Kerala to the public after 1 pm everyday. Three, the division of files between RTOs and sub-RTOs.

"The public is finding it difficult to clarify doubts and submit applications after road transport offices have stopped service counters and the entire gamut of the services they had provided have been shifted to the PRO's (public relations officer) counter," Kadakampally said. "People who reach RTOs to submit applications are now forced to stand in queues for hours, he said.

Kadakampally sounded resentful when he said that the reforms had allowed officers to shut themselves to the public after 1 pm. "This has created a situation where people had to wait for the mercy of officers. People should be allowed to meet officers and seek information and services at least till 3 pm," he said.

The transport minister said that it looked like the former minister had been misled by "agents". "These are people who never allow officers to do their work. They treat the RT office like their own backyard," Ganesh Kumar said. He said that there was even video footage of outsiders operating office computers. "They know the passwords," he said.

"Such agents and consultants cannot be allowed inside RT offices," the minister said. He also said that the 1 p.m. deadline was more than reasonable. "Fact is, there is no need for the public to visit any RTO counter to get a service. Everything is online now," he said.

Further, he said it was in the afternoons that motor vehicle officers do important jobs like, for instance, entering the names and scores of candidates who have appeared for the drivers' test. "At that time, it is inappropriate for anyone to seek information from them," the minister said.

The front office system, which Kadakampally seemed to deeply dislike, is part of LDF governance policy. "Why should everyone want to get inside the office and swarm the desks of clerks and superintendents and peep into the files," Ganesh said. He said that an automated system would soon come into being. "If you have any doubts, this system will tell you. Moreover, all the information is available on the Vahan site or on the MVD Kerala site. But if someone is so insistent on paying money to get information, it is better not to know," Ganesh said.

It was with sarcasm that Kadakampally spoke of the new file-sharing mechanism. "What I hear from Thiruvananthapuram is that only god knows in which district an application filed in Thiruvananthapuram would be considered," he said. "We know of the attitude of certain officers who are reluctant to serve the public and make them run from pillar to post. Now we have a situation where the common man is prohibited from knowing even the status of their applications," he said.

The minister said that the new system would divide work equally among officers. "In Thiruvananthapuram, the clerical staff is overworked. But in places like Konni, Pathanamthitta and Punalur, they generally remain idle. What we did was to scientifically divide the files among sub-RTOs. If there are one lakh files, for instance, these will be divided among the clerical staff all over Kerala. Now, each officer will have only a reasonable number of files with them to dispose of," the minister said.

The officers have also been told not to sit on a file for more than five days. "If they do, they will be transferred," he said.

There is yet another advantage. "The agents have always tried to influence the officers. Now, they can't. A file that was submitted in Kasaragod will now be cleared in Parassala. There will be no scope for corruption," the minister said.