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The state transport department has some good news for vehicle owners - they will no longer need to carry driving licence, registration certificate and other documents in original. All you need is to download DigiLocker or mParivahan apps in your mobile phone for the officials to access the relevant document.

Bhubaneswar: The state transport department has some good news for vehicle owners - they will no longer need to carry driving licence, registration certificate and other documents in original. All you need is to download DigiLocker or mParivahan apps in your mobile phone for the officials to access the relevant document.

Transport commissioner Sanjeeb Panda has directed all regional transport officers (RTOs) to accept electronic form of documents during enforcement drives.

Taking digitisation to the next step, the transport department has given its nod to allow vehicle owners carry documents in electronic form. Presenting vehicle documents using the DigiLocker or mParivahan apps will be treated at par with certificates issued by the transport commissioner.

The move comes after the Centre had in August issued an advisory asking states to accept vehicle documents presented in the "electronic form" using the two digital platforms.

The advisory of the Union ministry of road transport and highways asked transport authorities in the states to treat documents presented using the digital platforms par with certificates issued by them.

The DigiLocker platform of the ministry of electronics and information technology and the mParivahan mobile app of the road transport and highways ministry has the facility to access driving licence or registration certificates in an electronic form.

The central advisory also said that impounding of documents would be reflected electronically through the "eChallan" system.

"Electronic documents will be legally recognised at par with original documents according to the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. If there is a need to impound of documents, the enforcement agencies can impound electronically through e-challan, which will be reflected in Vahan/Sarathi application database," Panda said.

Vahan deals with vehicle registration, taxation, permit, fitness and associated services; while Sarathi is related to driving licence, learner licence, driving schools and other activities.

According to provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, the owner/driver has to produce documents such as licence or registration certificates to the authority on demand.

"During the enforcement, it has often been found that vehicle owners/ drivers do not have original documents. This led to their vehicles being seized. But if the vehicle owners/ drivers have e-copy of the documents, there is no need to carry the original documents," said a transport official.

He also said this would help them detect stolen vehicles during enforcement.

Commuters welcomed the move and said this would save them from harassment by enforcement agencies.

"Police and transport officials often fine us for not carrying documents. With the electronic form the documents can be shown using mobile platform," commuter Akash Sahoo said.