Former Maharashtra transport commissioner and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) chief Mahesh Zagade on Wednesday made an explosive claim, alleging that Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across the state pocket an estimated Rs 1700 crore in bribes every year.

Zagade, who was at a book launch event at the Mumbai Press Club, termed the RTOs and talathis (village-level revenue officers) as “engines of corruption,” even as he demanded their outright abolition, stating that modern digital infrastructure makes these physical offices obsolete.