DoTM starts printing smart driving license cards aiming to clear backlogs by mid-February

Kathmandu / Dec 28: The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) since Tuesday has started printing vehicle licenses on 1.4 million units of smart driving license cards imported last month.

According to the DoTM, it has started printing details of the eligible candidates on the smart license cards, aiming to clear all the backlogs by mid-February. “We have taken the move after cross verifying the quality of the imported cards,” said Namaraj Ghimire, director general of the DoTM.

The DoTM procured the license cards from the French contractor Smart Card and Solutions (SELP) that was awarded the contract for USD 1.24 million (Rs 140 million). The French company, 13 months after it was awarded the contract, supplied the license cards to the department on November 26.

The DoTM started distributing smart driving licenses from December, 2015. However, due to the lack of cards, the government authority has been issuing provisional licenses to the candidates eligible to receive a driving license.

According to Ghimire, the mass printers with the DoTM can print 8,000 cards daily. An estimated around 450,000 individuals who have passed the driving license tests have been waiting for their turns to receive the original license cards.