HYDERABAD: The Transport Department plans to overcome the delays caused by technical difficulties in issuing smart cards to applicants. About 1 lakh cards for various services, including for licence and registration, are being procured to help the authorities for smoother disbursals post the lockdown.
Speaking to Express, a senior official of the Road Transport Authority (RTA) said that 1 lakh cards will arrive in two days from Delhi. “During the lockdown, there were logistical problems and other issues such as placing of chips, which are now being resolved. These cards will be in addition to the existing cards,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, RTA offices received a good response as the lockdown was lifted. On an average, each office received over 100 applications and officials expressed hope that the process would once again pick up pace.
Sources blamed the shortage of smart cards on the contractor who stopped manufacturing these cards over a monetary dispute. “The shortage of cards have nothing to do with the second wave of Covid-19. Now, the department has opted for another supplier,” informed sources.
Applicants have questioned the RTA’s ‘mismanagement’, while recalling a similar situation in 2019, where the backlog was only cleared after a year. Former Transport Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy had set up a committee to resolve these kind of issues in 2019. Some applicants expressed anger that hundreds of rupees were being collected for issuance of cards, which they were yet to receive.
“The cards should be issued in seven days, as per the norms. But they are getting delayed by several months. About 10 lakh cards could still be pending,” said M Dayanand, general secretary, Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union.