ON DUTY Happily married to work R J Patel Asst Road Transport Officer

Dilip Patel
Happily married to work If you are looking for the office of RJ Patel, assistant road transport officer at the RTO headquarters, it is rather simple. Look for the longest queue inside the building and that is where it is. R J Patel, 57, is a workaholic. He enters his office at 11 am sharp. His day begins with processing 1,500 applications related to traffic police, recovering of penalties, vehicle registration, post registration work, collection of fines and penalties. He looks into 5,000 papers attached to these documents and attests at least 2,500 signatures. And while he does all that, he never cribs. Patel loves his work and that is exactly why he takes it on with gusto. Also, with just 14 months for him to retire, one can understand his hurry.
When he locks his desk at 5 pm, there’s nothing pending. Patel never carries forward his duties. “My work is like that of Lord Hanuman. I handle problems no one else wants to take up,” Patel says.
The average applications he receives daily includes 200 for release of detained vehicles, 50 for issuance of international driving licences to Indians going abroad, 50 of foreigners seeking Indian licences and applications for cancellation of vehicle registrations. He even issues no objection certificates.
“My policy is clear. Finish your day’s work and leave. That is what you are paid for. Not a single paper is left unattended when I leave my office.” His efforts put Rs 30 lakh every day in RTO’s kitty.
However, Patel rues the fact that most people who come to his office are illiterate. “They don’t know what they need to submit. It annoys me. I tell them to at least learn how to read and write.” We already know what this married-to-work man is going to do after he retires.

R J Patel Asst Road Transport Officer