Kathmandu, December 25
A small number of vehicles having embossed registration plates indicates failure to meet the deadline to instal embossed number plates on all vehicles in the country.
So far, only less than two per cent of vehicles have got embossed registration plates when 11 months are remaining for the deadline (16 December, 2023) to expire, said the Department of Transport Management.
Installing the number plates is expected to reduce incidents of vehicle theft, revenue evasion, and criminal activities.
"Despite a brief halt due to protests from various quarters and legal difficulties, installing the number plates is going on, but at a slow pace," said the Department's Spokesperson Ishwori Datta Paneru.
The legal provision has it that vehicles can voluntarily get embossed registration plates. The government aims to install number plates on 2.5 million vehicles in a period of five years.
However, legal issues and language barriers have exacerbated the situation. A lawsuit has been filed in the court demanding that the language on the number plates should be Nepali.
About two years ago, the court had delivered a verdict that allowed the use of English language. The deadline was extended for two more years after its expiry over seven months ago. On 30 May 2016, the Department signed an agreement with the Tiger IT (The Corporation) to supply and install number plates.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
