E-Paper
Driving license, registration certificate printing stalled in Punjab as firm unable to procure microchips
At least 3.5 lakh driving licenses (DLs) and registration certificates (RCs) of the vehicles are pending to be delivered to the applicants by transport department, Punjab. Ludhiana is worst affected district as the pendency here is around 2 lakh.
At least 3.5 lakh driving licenses (DLs) and registration certificates (RCs) of the vehicles are pending to be delivered to the applicants by transport department, Punjab. Ludhiana is worst affected district as the pendency here is around 2 lakh.
“This is a cause of grave inconvenience and hardships to people of the state, as they have make several rounds of RTO offices as the printing of driving licenses and vehicle registration certificates have come to a complete standstill resulting in huge pendency,” said Dr Kamal Soi, member, National Road Safety Council, which works under the Union ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The state government has hired a private agency to make DLs and RCs, which is unable to procure the micro-chips, leading to delay. According to a senior officer in the transport officer the company is unable to procure the chip, due to which the work has come to a virtual stop. “The company has been issued a showcause notice and action will be initiated in case it fails to make sure that the making of DLs and RCs is done in time,” said the officer, confirming that pendency has crossed 3 lakh but refusing to give a breakdown on how many RCs and DLs are waiting to be made.
According to Soi, “ It is a matter of fact that in many cases, there is a delay of over a month which is against the terms of the contract executed by the transport department with the service provider to be made available in one week after applying”. Naming the company, Soi said, the Smart Chip Private Limited has been awarded the contract for making DLs and RCs and it is already in litigation with the state government since 2018. “The same company has been awarded the contract for making DLs and RCs in Uttar Pradesh and I would also go to the state to expose the working,” added Soi.
Soi demanded that the transport department should impose penalty on the company for causing delay in making DLs and RCs as per the terms of the contact and compensate the general public by paying them the penalty and the department should consider cancellation of contracts and allot the contract a fresh .
