Lying on the river banks of Tawi, Jammu is the winter capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Being the second-most populous city in the union territory, it needs to maintain strict traffic rules to ensure the safety of people. Thus, the place houses one RTO office (JK-02) to look after the traffic regulation. 

In addition, it provides several services such as driving licence issuance and renewal, vehicle registration and other related services.

The officials of Jammu RTO serve several purposes to its residents, regarding law enforcement and administrative functions. These include:

• Issue and renew driving licences

• Undertake vehicle inspection

• Collect road taxes

• Grant necessary vehicle permits or certificates

• Issue and renew vehicle registration certificates

• Transfer ownership of the vehicles

• Provide PUC certificates

RTOs carry out several duties under the jurisdiction of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988. It is responsible for issuing different types of driving licence, such as:

• Learner’s Licence

• Permanent Driving Licence

• Commercial Driving Licence

• International Driving Permit

When you purchase a new vehicle anywhere in India, you must register the vehicle as per the Motor Vehicle Act. There are 2 types of vehicle registration available to the residents of Jammu, including:

• Temporary Registration 

• Permanent Registration

The officials of RTO verify all the documents and issue a vehicle registration certificate. After that, it is mandatory to carry a soft or hard copy of this document while driving.

The registration of a vehicle involves different types of registration charges. A few of them applicable in Jammu are:

• Registration Charges (for all cars): ₹600

• Hypothecation Charges (if the vehicle is purchased on a loan): ₹1500

• Number Plate Charges (same for HSRP Number Plate): ₹230 to ₹400

• Parking Fee or State Development Charges: ₹2000 to ₹4000 

• Temporary Registration Charges (for up to 1 month): ₹1500 to ₹2500

• FasTag Charges: ₹500 to ₹600

Every vehicle owner of Jammu is subject to pay Jammu Kashmir Parivahan Tax while driving on the roads. It is mandated under the Jammu and Kashmir Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957. Jammu RTO follows the standards of Jammu and Kashmir Road tax. 

On this note, an individual has to pay 9% of the cost of the vehicle. The government has introduced road tax instalments instead of a one-time payment. These include:

For Two-wheelers:

• Scooters With Attachments: ₹60 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹2400 (One Time Tax)

• Motorcycle: ₹100 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹4000 (One-Time Tax)

• Motorcycle With Sidecar: ₹150 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹4000 (One Time Tax)

For Four-wheelers:

• Motorcars of More Than 14 HP: ₹150 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹6000 (One Time Tax)

• Motorcars of Up To 12 HP: ₹1000 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹20000 (One Time Tax)

• Motor Car with Trailer: ₹150 (Quarterly Tax)

• Invalid Carriage: ₹60 (Quarterly Tax) & ₹2400 (One Time Tax)

For Commercial Vehicles:

• Seating Capacity of up to 5 persons (Quarterly Tax): ₹250

• Seating Capacity of above 5 persons (Quarterly Tax): ₹375

• Trailers (Quarterly Tax): ₹250

If the residents violate traffic rules, it attracts consequences leading to traffic fines and penalties in Jammu. These fines for violating traffic rules are uniform throughout Jammu and Kashmir. These include:

• Over-speeding: ₹1000 to ₹2000 (LMV) and ₹2000 to ₹4000 (MPV or HPV) along with licence seizure

• Driving without a Licence: ₹5000 and/or community service

• Drunk Driving: ₹10000 and/or 6 months in prison and ₹15000 and/or 2 years in prison for a subsequent offence

• Driving without a Seat Belt: ₹1000 and/or community service

• Using Mobile while Driving: ₹5000

• Blocking Emergency Vehicles: ₹10000 and/or community service

• Riding without a Helmet: ₹1000 and/or licence disqualification and community service for 3 months

Yes, it is mandatory to carry insurance while driving a vehicle on the roads in Jammu. Otherwise, it would cost a fine of ₹2000 and/or 3 months of imprisonment and community services. Besides, it will attract a fine of ₹4000 for repeating the same offence.

A report suggests the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has sanctioned the request to build the elevated light metro in Srinagar and Jammu. They expect to ease the traffic of these capital cities with this construction. 

Another report claims the wildlife roadkill incidents are increasing at an alarming rate as highways are lengthening. In addition, the number of vehicles has increased by 100% since 2014 after the construction of 4 new national highways. 

According to a report, the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) organised a series of awareness programmes. On this occasion, Jammu RTO distributed pamphlets to the drivers and general public on road safety awareness. 

Another report published earlier says Hyundai launched a road safety campaign (#BeTheBetterGuy) for Gen Z.