HYDERABAD: In a massive exercise, the Transport Department is planning to replace the existing driving licences with `Smart Cards' to ensure tamper proof vehicle documents. The new cards are likely to be introduced within three months in the city.

Driving licence with a Smart Card containing a memory chip prevents vehicle owners from giving false addresses and resorting to forgery of documents. It contains the details of fitness, pollution and insurance documents besides personal details of the owner.

Details of number of cases booked under the Motor Vehicle Act against a motorist by officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) will also be included in the chip. Any data of the cardholder can be obtained within minutes by swiping it to a handheld reader.

NIC software

According to a senior official, the National Informatics Centre, New Delhi, will provide the necessary software. Licence holders have to submit their old licences at the RTA offices and new ones will be issued later after installing a memory chip with updated details of the vehicle owner.

"If a vehicle owner tries to provide false details while submitting licence and other related documents to obtain a Smart Card, the fraud can be detected easily as we send new cards through the Postal Department and take signature of the owner," explains the official. At the same time, authorities are updating personal details of the owners. Registration certificates will also be replaced with the Smart Cards in a similar manner.

Cumbersome process

It is turning out to be a cumbersome process to trace the address of a motorist in the event of violation of traffic rules or involvement in any criminal case. "This initiative will certainly avoid all these problems," says Transport Commissioner Ajay Misra, adding that the proposals were pending with the Government.

Smart Cards are likely to be introduced on an experimental basis at the RTA office in Bahadurpura.

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