When you change your place of residence you are in big troubles as you have to deal with many issues which are beyond your comprehension otherwise. It starts with the Gas Connection. You have to deal with it immediately otherwise you will be forced either to eat out or do the cooking yourself. Next in Line is the Ration Card. You need to surrender the old get a NOC and then apply for it in your new city. Though it has lost the importance it had earlier, still it carries some weight.
In case your new residence is on rental basis, then you need to get your lease agreement registered, as a non – registered lease agreement has no validity and is not acceptable as a proof of residential address. In case you are moving to your own house, as is the case with me, you still have a problem if the house is in your wife’s name and the electricity and telephone bills too are in her name. You then need an affidavit from her to an effect which indicates that you being her husband or son / daughter live with her in that place. It will then only be treated as a valid address proof, not otherwise.
Voter Card needs to be changed, if you want to exercise your right as a conscientious citizen. Then comes the Pan Card. It is the simplest of all in my opinion and experience. You can file your returns from anywhere, however I feel you need to go the circle, from where the Pan Card was issued earlier, in case of a query raised by the IT department. So one must change the Pan Card as and when one changes the place or city at least.
Change of address for Passport is also necessary, in case you want to submit it as a proof of residence. It also helps during renewal as you do not have to approach the earlier place of issue.
Same Logic applies for the Driving License. But, it is the most cumbersome procedure of all. I faced it.
I realized on Jan 01, 2012 that my license was due to expire on Jan 06, 2012. I went to the RTO at Pune. I was told that the renewal involves a change of address also, so I needed to get a NOC from the earlier place of issue, which was Hyderabad in my case. I was also informed that if my request reaches them after the date of expiry, the RTO Hyderbad may not issue a NOC. In that case I will have to go through a routine procedure of going for a Learner License and then apply for a regular license. I had the fear of failure at the learner license stage as I have forgotten all traffic signals and rules over the last 40 years or so, and having particularly driven vehicles in cities like Indore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and now Pune, which are all known for rule of Jungle Raj.
So, I decided to give a try to getting the NOC. Luckily my Son – In – Law stays at Hyderabad. I sent a letter by mail giving him or his father an authority to submit my application and take the delivery of NOC on my behalf. Thankfully, it worked. Appa ( Naveen’s father ) did manage to get the NOC. I had passed one hurdle. However, the courier - DTC in this case, played his spoiling role. I got the delivery of NOC after Jan 06, 2012.
I still did not give up. I approached the RTO. I could reach up to a stage when I thought that now it was cake walk, but NO!. He saw my papers and sent me to his boss. He saw all the papers and told me that I would require a Call Confirmation. I did not know what that meant. He scribbled something on my form and sent me back to Mr. Jadhav. He told me that I needed to get the CC from Hyderabd. He asked me to fill up that requisite form. He signed it and gave me and asked me to get it from Hyderabad. The only concessions he gave me were that he would accept a Fax or Scanned copy of CC and secondly He would still accept my application though it has expired technically. I gave a sigh of relief and took the form.
Again, I requested Navin and Appa to help me out and sent the letter through Blue Dart, by paying Rs.300/- which was very high, but the only consolation was that it would reach the destination th every next day. I accepted that as I had very little choices. Next day Appa was to proceed to Chennai, and it was a Saturday. I had the fear that the RTO would be closed because it happened to be a 2nd Saturday.
My stars were favoring me. Appa had a tough time convincing the RTO guy there, to issue the CC. His contention was that his confirmation was already sent by post. Still Appa could finally get his way. And LO! He had the CC in his hands after spending a couple of hours and some sweat. Naveen sent me the scanned copy. Next day I went to the RTO and submitted my papers, paid the fee and got myself snapped. The last hurdle is crossed perhaps. I was informed that the license would reach me by post in about two weeks.
You now realize how difficult it is to get Change of address for the Driving License. So get it done in time. See the expiry date of your license, keep about a couple of months in hand and start the procedure.
Getting the Change of Address on passport too is cumbersome, but not that difficult. I have yet to do that to really know what are the issues involved. I would post a separate blog if need, in case I experience something rich.
If you do not have a bank pass book in the new city, please get it immediately, with the address and photos, as this is acceptable for the changes in passport. All in all, the process of change of voter card, Pan Card, Passport, Driving License, is not as Simple as it sounds. So don’t take these lightly. I am ready to give free consultancy to anyone in a similar situation.
Passing Shot :
I fail to understand why government has not thought of computerization and centralization of these systems. You can apply On – Line for a new passport, but you can’t do so for renewal or change of address etc. Why?
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