October 24: The Department of Transportation Management (DoTM) has awarded a contract to print upto 600,000 smart licenses within 45 days to a private company. The department said that it awarded the contract to Malika Incorporate in a bid to provide licenses to the applicants who have been waiting in queue since a year.

According to Gokarna Prasad Upadhyay, spokesperson of DoTM, more than 500,000 applicants who have already passed the written examinations as well as trial for license are waiting since a long time to get their licenses.

“We have signed an agreement with Malika Incorporate to print around 500,000 to 600,000 smart licenses within 45 days,” he said.

The company will receive Rs 15 for printing one license. Upadhyay further said that the department will provide the cards and electricity while the company will be responsible only for printing the cards.

The cards will be printed at Min Bhawan-based office of DoTM.

The department informed that all the applicants who have passed the tests will get licenses within the next two months.