PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The traffic police officials dealing with driving licences have been causing losses to the national kitty, officials and drivers told Dawn here on Wednesday.

The traffic police officials dealing with issuance and renewal of driving licences have been taking the renewal fee from the drivers directly instead of sending them to banks to deposit the same. In this way, they pocket huge amount from the people thus causing huge losses to the national exchequer.

This practice is continued since long. Several times, the peoples have lodged complaints against the clerks, but no action has been taken so far, said a traffic police official on the request of unanimity.

The officials at the Police Traffic Headquarters hand over forms for new and renewal of old licences to the drivers, who were supposed to deposit the fee in the nearby bank and resubmit the form along with the bank receipt with the clerks and get their licences after a week’s time.

But the clerks charged the drivers and others wanting renewal of their licences directly without giving any receipt which goes into their pockets.

Most of the gullible drivers have no idea that the money must by deposited in banks. They instead feel pleasure to avoid the exercise of visiting bank and queuing up for depositing the amount there.

“I lodged a complaint with the Superintendent of Police (traffic), Abdullah Khan, who called two officials, who had received Rs300 directly from me just moments ago, but he just issued warning to them and asked them to mend their ways and do not bring bad name to the department”, said a Peshawar-based driver.

This practice is still going on unabated despite the denial of the SP traffic, who claims that the illegal practice has been stopped.

“Yes, recently one person lodged complaint with me and I warned all the officials concerned and the practice is now stopped,” Mr Abdullah told Dawn .

He said that he had also displayed the information in writing for the general public at the offices to deposit the licence issuance and renewal fee only in the designated banks after the complaints from general public.

A traffic official disclosed that those licences which are made or renewed directly by the licence clerks aren’t registered in the record books.

The record books show the entry of only those licences, the amount of which was deposited in the banks.