The state government’s new licence initiative will be a people friendly one. Sources in the state government claimed that the new system will help reduce the time it takes a licence holder to pay fines and various taxes and fees such as the fee for renewal of licence. The new digital licence will have a microchip which will contain all relevant information about the licence holder. This information will be made available online to various traffic authorities such as the police and the RTO.

The minister of state for transport, Amit Shah, while confirming the state government plans, claimed, "The new system will be user-friendly and help the state government manage the transport system effectively." Shah further said that the RBI had given its approval a week back to the new computer software that the state government planned to install to conduct traffic-related transactions with the participating banks. To get a new licence, people can deposit the fee in a branch of any of the participating banks.

"They won't have to go to the RTO to pay taxes or fines," Shah said. The minister said the new system will be implemented within the next six months. "Initially, both the licences will be valid but after the new system becomes fully functional in all the districts, the old licences will be withdrawn."

Commenting on the proposal to suspend driving licences after three violations of traffic rules, Vikas Tripathi, 24, a marketing executive, said it would lead to irregularities by the police. "Many roads are in poor shape. On such roads, drivers can commit mistakes without intending to," he said. "Such drivers should not be penalised."

Kapil Dave/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication