HYDERABAD: Following the allegations levelled by a Punjab-based NGO regarding poor quality smart cards being issued in Telangana for vehicle registration certificates (RC) and driving licenses (DL), the state transport department has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
“I have ordered an inquiry into the matter and am expecting a report to be submitted tomorrow (Saturday). Following this, we might refer to cyber security experts,” KS Sreenivasa Raju, secretary, transport department, told TNIE.
According to the complainant, Kamal Soi, chairman of Raahat NGO, the chips in the smart cards are vulnerable to data breaches.
Moreover, he claimed that the chips are of substandard quality and were supplied by city-based Colorplast India Pvt. Ltd., which was awarded one year tender by the Telangana government in February 2023 to supply pre-printed PVC 64K SCOSTA smart cards.
Addressing media persons on Friday, Soi asked for an investigation into the use of non-approved smart card chips lacking standards of Smart Card Operating Systems for Transport Applications (SCOSTA) mandated by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
“It is the standard practice followed by M/s. Colorplast to show compliance at the time of award of tender/contract agreement and thereafter, at the time of execution, using fake, substandard, and noncompliant SCOSTA Smart Cards,” Soi alleged.
Soi, who is also the former vice chairman, Department of Transport, Government of Punjab, wrote a letter to the Telangana transport department and the minister (Ponnam Prabhakar), on May 8, claiming that an ex-employee of the company pointed out the use of the “fake, substandard, and noncompliant” SCOSTA Smart Cards.
“..We shared the series of numbers of Chinese chips being used. China can secure the data from such chips and misuse it..,” Soi said.
Suspecting a multi-crore scam, he also accused the company of using substandard and cheap products manufactured in China and having a similar history of fraudulent and illegal practises in projects undertaken in Gujarat and Bihar.
As per reports, the company was allotted the tender to provide a chip for Rs 32 over which Soi detailed the chips being used in these cards are available for Rs 3 to Rs 4, while the SCOSTA-compliant chips would cost around Rs 27 to Rs 28.
“The intention of the fraud could just be financial gain. Simultaneously, it also leads to data compromise and hacking.They (chips manufactured in China) are hence very cheaply available. The cost difference could be hypothetically in the range of 25-40%,” he said.
Soi also revealed the details of five cards in the 2024 series that were not equipped with SCOSTA-regulated standards.