KATHMANDU, JUNE 7
Following widespread criticism, the Department of Transport Management today clarified that the mandatory provision of affixing embossed number plates in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces by mid-July was based on the notice published on Nepal Gazette in October and is only applicable to newer vehicles.
The DoTM had issued a notice on Friday warning that vehicles registered in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces that did not affix embossed number plates by mid-July could be confiscated and the vehicle owner could face six-month jail time or be slapped with a fine of Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000, as provisioned in the Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 1993.
However today, the department issued a statement say-ing that the mandatory embossed number plate rule only applied to vehicles registered after 17 November 2021, if the vehicle ownership was being transferred after 13 February 2022, and for those seeking renewal of vehicle ownership certificate after 15 May 2022.
The department has also accepted that it is simply not possible to affix all vehicles registered in the two provinces with the new number plates by mid-July. Of the 2.5 million vehicles registered in the country, about 1.7 million vehicles are registered in Bagmati Province and 300,000 in Gandaki Province, while only 25,000 vehicles have been affixed with embossed number plates so far.
Madan Pokharel, head of the Transport Management Office in Ekantakuna, admitted it would take years to issue new plates to all registered vehicles because of limited resources.
"We are able to affix an average of 100 number plates per day," he said, adding his office has issued around 16,000 plates.
Friday's notice had many vehicle owners scrambling to get their vehicles affixed with the embossed number plates.
One of them was Prakash Dahal, a resident of Kausaltar,queuing outside the Ekantakuna-based Transportation Management Office to submit the required documents to affix embossed number plates on his four-wheeler. "I cancelled everything else today because of the lengthy proce-dure. I knew it would take up most part of the day," he said.
However, Pokharel denied it was a lengthy process as applicants could submit their forms and make payment online.
"Yes, they need to come in person for verification and stamp, but it is a lot easier these days," he said. But according to Dahal, the necessity to commute such a long way to have his vehicle affixed with the embossed number plates was still a hassle.
"Why can't they provide the service through other TMOs as well?"
TMO in Ekantakuna has been installing the embossed plates on four-wheelers, while owners of two-wheelers have to go to TMO Gurjudhara in Bagmati Province. The TMO Pokhara under Gandaki Province has been dealing with installation of embossed plates for vehicles on two- and four-wheelers.
Cost of getting new plates
Type of vehicle Price
• Two-wheeler Rs 2,500
• Three-wheeler Rs 2,900
• Light and medium four-wheeler Rs 3,200
• Heavy vehicle Rs 3,600
Timeline
• The embossed number plate system first envisioned in the government's three-year interim plan, 2007-10
• Endorsed first time in budget of 2015-16
• June 1, 2016: A joint venture company, Decatur Tiger of Bangladesh awarded the tender to supply embossed number plates through a global bidding system
• July 27, 2017: The cabinet meeting decides to use Roman script on embossed number plates
• August 9, 2017: Government publishes a notice on Gazette to use to use Roman script on Timeline embossed number plates
• February 7, 2018: Bharat Basnet files a case at Supreme Court (SC) demanding use of Devanagari script on embossed number plates • February 22, 2018: A single bench of Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli issues a stay order directing the government to suspend distribution of embossed number plates
• December 13, 2019: The Supreme Court dismisses the writ petition
• July 5, 2020: The process of installing embossed number plates on vehicles, which was halted for two years, resumes
A version of this article appears in the print on June 8, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
