Delay in computerised number plates irks public

LAHORE: The Excise and Taxation Department's Motor Registration Authority has not yet resolved the crisis of computerised number plates.

More than 1.8 million number plates are pending across Punjab, including Lahore. Thousands of people, including rickshaw and van drivers, have deposited their fee to get number plates, but they have not received new number plates as yet. The plan for the universal number plate has been delayed too.

To look into the matter, a meeting was held under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Bazdar, but the Department of Excise and Taxation has not been able to make the timely release of the plates.

The Excise and Taxation Department’s officials held negotiations with different companies but the tenders could not be released. This is the reason that the crisis of number plates across Punjab, including Lahore, has deepened.

Campaign against vehicles without standard number plates from August 1

The release of three-figure universal number plates is unlikely to be completed this year.

The universal number plates were planned in keeping with the security policy, sources said, adding that the Department of Excise and Taxation had sent a summary to the law department in this regard but no action was taken. Therefore, the project is delayed due to lethargy of the departments.

Excise and Taxation Department Additional Director General Shakeel Rao told The Express Tribune that some changes have been made to the software of universal number plates. “We have informed the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) about our requirements in regards to the changes,” he explained. Rao claimed that computerised number plates will be issued just as they get new software.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2020.