22-04-2025
Printing of 4.5 lakh driving licences, RCs pending, Punjab informs HC
A month after the Punjab government claimed that it had purchased chip cards privately to print driving licences and registration certificates of vehicles, it told the Punjab and Haryana High Court Monday that printing of 4.5 lakh DLs and RCs was pending.
Hearing the PIL on long wait for these documents in Punjab, the High Court has ordered the government to file a reply on the slow process of issuing DLs and RCs of the vehicles.
Filing the petition, Mohali resident Neha Shukla told the High Court that the owner of the vehicle has to get the registration done within one month. However, people in Punjab have to wait for months for RC.
The contract of M/s Smart Chip Private Limited had to come to an end in July this year. But the company exited prematurely in November last year, leaving the government and the licence and registration certificate holders in the lurch. Ever since, the government has not been able to provide the DLs and RCs on smart cards. The government tried to allot the contract twice, with tender floated twice but the process got caught up in litigation. The issue reached the High Court with another private company opposing it.
The government told the HC that there was a pendency of 6 lakh RCs but due to the efforts of the government, only 4.5 lakh cases are now pending and the backlog is being cleared. The government said that 5,000 applications are being processed every day.
It said that RCs that are being approved are available on platforms like Digi Locker and M Parivahan. The petitioner said that in this way these vehicles can be driven only in Punjab, there is a risk of challan if they are taken anywhere outside.
The HC asked why the government is not getting this work done by people on contract. The court has ordered the Punjab government to file an affidavit regarding this matter.
The pendency in printing of these DLs and RCs is an issue in the state after a company allotted the project to print these documents and conduct driving tests exited prematurely in November last year when its contract was to end in July this year, leaving the government in the lurch.
Kamal Soi, a member of the National Road Safety Council of the Government of India, said that pendency was not the only issue but people were waiting for the driving tests also to be conducted. 'There was a long wait.
The government is unable to provide even as basic services as these to people. There is no plan to regularise this. People are suffering badly,' he said.
He added that if they have been able to purchase the chip cards, what is stopping them to print fast and clear the backlog.
Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said, 'We have been able to purchase chip cards as Regional Transport Authority.
Now, we are printing on our own. We are printing about 6,000 to 8,000 cards every day. We have cleared a backlog of 1.5 lakh in a month's time. Also, we have now worked out a system.
We will call tenders for two licence holders each for printing and conducting driving tests after learning from our bad experience. Our contractor ran away. We have blacklisted the company. They cannot apply for any tender. Also, we have withheld their payments to the tune of Rs 7 crore for ditching us,' he said.
He added, 'Now with two license holders each, our work will go on even if a company exits prematurely.'
Bhullar said they will only invite the tender for printing now, 'We had a rider that a company having three-years experience would be considered for the tender allotment. A private company, having a year's experience, went to the high court and git a stay. Now, we are saying we are ready to consider a company having one year experience.'
Soi has been demanding that the government should award the contract to Government of India's NICSI so that the backlog is cleared.
But the government asked the company to give them a security deposit. And hence, it did not proceed further.
