Printing of RCs, DLs held up in Punjab, backlog reaches over 2.5 lakh
Over 2.5 lakh applicants are yet to get their driving licence (DL) and registration certificate (RC) smart cards in the state.
Sources in the Transport Department said M/s Smart Chip Pvt Ltd exited the project in November last year following issues related to the cost of printing the RCs and DLs. The new vendor, who was assigned the job till September 2025, has not started the work so far. It could not be ascertained whether the department had ensured that Smart Chip firm had enough stock of smart cards required for a period of three months when it exited the project.
The backlog is increasing every day with the Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) and Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) as about 8,000 to 10,000 RCs and DLs are issued across the state daily.
A senior functionary of the department said though efforts were being made to clear the backlog, instructions had already been issued to the police that the RCs and DLs downloaded from DigiLocker or mParivahan application should be considered as valid and commuters showing these online documents should not be challaned. Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said the printing of RCs and DLs would begin within a few days and the entire backlog would be cleared.
In March last year, the minister had issued the contract termination notice to Smart Chip Pvt Ltd over failure to issue RCs and DLs within stipulated time frame. There were delays in printing of the documents.
Dr Kamal Sohi, member of National Road Safety Council, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said till the time the new vendor began printing documents, the project could be implemented through National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI), a 100 per cent government-owned firm.
