Smart license delay: Applicants waiting over a year
Despite obtaining his driving license almost a year ago, he is still waiting for the smart driving license card.
KATHMANDU: Prahlad Adhikari, a resident of Lalbandi, Sarlahi, has been traveling to the Transport Management Office in Birgunj every two to three months for nearly a year.
Despite obtaining his driving license almost a year ago, he is still waiting for the smart driving license card.
Currently employed in Saptari, Adhikari has to take leave from his job each time he travels to Birgunj in the hope of collecting his license. But every visit ends in disappointment. “Smart licenses have become a rare commodity,” he remarked. “Each time I come, I return empty-handed.”
According to him, transport office staff simply inform him that his license has not been printed yet. “Every visit ends with the same response — ‘your license is still not printed.’ What kind of system is this, where a license isn’t printed even after a year?”
Adhikari is not alone. Many service seekers like him arrive at the office daily, only to return frustrated. Some applicants have reportedly been waiting for up to three years for their smart driving licenses.
Kusheshwor Sah, the head of the Transport Office, said there is nothing the office can do until the smart licenses are printed and delivered by the central printing center. “We are just a distribution point,” he explained. “The Department is responsible for printing. Due to the overwhelming number of pending licenses, printing delays are unavoidable.”
He added that frequent breakdowns of the printing machines have further worsened the situation.
However, Sah expressed hope that the problem will be resolved in the upcoming fiscal year, as preparations are underway to enable license printing within the province.
“Once printing starts at the provincial level, such delays are likely to be minimized,” he said.
Since 2022, thousands of applicants have been left waiting, caught in the backlog of unprinted smart driving licenses.
