Officials of the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation informed the Ministerial Consultative Committee that currently, more than 300,000 driver’s licenses are pending issuance, and arrangements have been made to print and distribute them within the next three months.

They further stated that a new driver’s license with enhanced security features will also be printed and issued within this year. 

Additionally, all necessary arrangements have been completed to procure one million cards required for the printing of driver’s licenses, according to the officials who briefed the committee.

These remarks were made during the meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation, held in Parliament recently, under the chairmanship of Bimal Rathnayake, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation, according to a statement by the Department of Communication of Parliament.

Addressing the committee, the Chair instructed officials to install printing machines in every province to expedite the issuance of pending driver’s licenses.

The Chair also inquired from officials regarding the issuance of vehicle number plates. In response, officials informed the committee that the process of selecting a supplier is currently underway, and following Cabinet approval, the process will be completed, allowing for the commencement of number plate issuance.

Furthermore, the committee discussed the integrated passenger transport timetable currently in operation. The Chair stated that as the integrated timetable is a policy initiative, steps will be taken to identify shortcomings and expand it to more regions in the future to provide a more efficient service to passengers.

The Chair also presented details regarding a pilot project aimed at reducing train accidents involving wild elephants. It was revealed that Rs. 2.8 million will be spent to install long-range surveillance cameras on trains operating on the Batticaloa line to monitor and minimize elephant-train collisions.

The committee also held extensive discussions regarding issues faced in the constituencies of Members of Parliament and possible solutions to those problems, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament, and other officials.