KATHMANDU: Distribution of smart vehicle driving licences, which was stopped ‘unofficially’ due to lack of smart cards, is yet to resume.

As the central government plans to shift the responsibility of distributing smart driving licences to the provincial government, it is unlikely that service-seekers will get smart driving licences any time soon.

Over 200,000 people seeking smart driving licences across the country have been deprived of the same since the past eight months.

However, Department of Transport Management (DoTM) Director General Rupnarayan Bhattarai said that distribution of smart licences from the provincial level will be effective.

“The problem in distribution of smart driving licences is more due to shortage of smart cards.

However, 100,000 smart cards have already arrived at the customs office while another 1.5 million will arrive within the next 15 days,” he informed, adding that distribution of smart driving licences will gain momentum after all these digital cards arrive at DoTM.