Coimbatore Consumer Cause has urged the State government to fill the large number of vacancies for the position of Regional Transport Officer (RTO) without any further delay.Additional charge assigned for the available officials at multiple offices has caused severe public hardship in granting/ renewal of transport permits, K. Kathirmathiyon, Secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, said in a representation to the Secretary, Home Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.Over 30 offices are operating without regular posting, and many RTOs find themselves forced to hold additional charge of two or more offices simultaneously for prolonged periods, extending into several months—and in some cases, years. It severely hampers administrative efficiency, delays public service delivery, causing immense hardship to public commuters and transport operators, the petition said.Legal flaws also creep into official decision-making, the petition said, citing the instance of Rule 143 of the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Rules, under which the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) delegates specific statutory functions directly to the Secretary, RTA (Regional Transport Officer).These include grant and renewal of regular transport permits; grant of temporary permits; processing and approval of permits for goods carriages, auto-rickshaws, private service vehicles, and other transport vehicles.By established principles of administrative law, statutory powers delegated to a specific officer cannot be further sub-delegated to subordinate officials.Digital approvals within the Parivahan online system are seemingly being carried out by subordinate officials in the ranks of Superintendents or Assistants; the RTO merely appends a signature to printed physical permits.If an electronic approval on the Parivahan portal is processed or authorised by an official who lacks statutory competence under Rule 143, the legal validity of such permits becomes vulnerable to judicial challengeThe RTO posts must, hence, be filled with immediate effect. Else, Full Additional Charge (FAC) must be assigned to a senior officer stationed within that specific office throughout working hours, explicitly empowering them to discharge statutory duties locally, Mr. Kathirmathiyon emphasised. Published - July 30, 2026 12:27 am IST