Kathmandu, June 27: In the seven years since the government entered into an agreement for ’embossed number plates’, nearly 50,000 service users have installed number plates on their vehicles.
Since the government has not made it compulsory, only a small number of plates have been installed so far. According to the Department of Transport Management, about three lakh number plates have been produced so far. Ishwaridatta Paneru, the spokesperson of the department, said that the delay in connection is not due to the supplier but because the department has not made it mandatory.
He said that the supplier is saying that they can produce as requested by the department. It is said that its progress has been delayed due to the confusion over which language to make it for a long time. As the government has said to print ’embossed number plates’ also in Nepali, now the department is making necessary preparations for this.
Spokesperson Paneru said that what is important is the government’s own capacity to serve many customers at the same time.
According to him, it is necessary to have physical infrastructure, human resources, parking space, etc. He said that a plan will be made in coordination with provincial offices as to how many can be reached. He said, “We will do coordination work. Since transport offices have to do special work, their resources should also be provided.”
It is said that the installation of embossed number plates has been delayed due to court cases and sometimes due to language disputes. The department is extending the period because of the delay due to other reasons and not because of the supplier company. According to the last extension, the period is till next December. He said that it can speed up when everyone works in coordination.
He said that there is a possibility that the supplier will print in a hurry and the transport office will connect it accordingly and it will be completed in the next few days. He said that even if some problems have arisen by then, the government will solve them if it is not solved. The department entered into an agreement with Tiger IT on Jestha 2073 BS for the supply and installation of number plates.
