Fake number plates flood market as departmental dispute lingers on

The longer the dispute between the federal department National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) and Punjab’s Excise Department regarding the price of number plates lingers on, new challenges for the public and law enforcement agencies become the norm.

With residents of Punjab already impacted by the delay in number plates and some not having received theirs for the past two years, it seems that the change in government has also done little to improve the situation. Now, counterfeit groups have started selling number plates with embossed numbers to the citizens at a price of Rs 2,000 to Rs.2,500 by installing embossing machines to replicate original computerised plates.

These counterfeit number plates pose new challenges for the safety of Punjab as due to the lack of a reflector sheet and watermark like the original plate, the cameras of Punjab Safe City Authority cannot identify them.

The dispute between the NRTC and the Excise Department which arose due to the increase in raw material prices has created a market for counterfeit number plates of more than 2.2 million vehicle owners who have been waiting to get their plates for several months now. Sources privy to the matter told the Express Tribune that they will have to wait for a few more months until Justice (retd) Ali Akbar, who has been appointed mediator, resolves the dispute between the two departments.

Director Excise Region-C Lahore, Qamarul Hassan, expressed hope that once the mediation process is over the government will be able to finish the backlog immediately. When asked about action against the counterfeit plates, he informed that the new Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has issued directions to CCPO Lahore Bilal Kamiana to form a joint team of Police Department and Excise Department and start a crackdown against counterfeit number plates.

Poor delivery mechanism

Another pertinent issue is the delivery of thousands of pre-made number plates and smart cards for vehicles has hit a snag which has further infuriated residents of Punjab. Bureaucratic sources familiar with the delivery process informed that a blame game is under way between Pakistan Post, who is responsible for delivery and the Excise Department which is responsible for packaging of the plates and cards. With neither department taking ownership, the delivery network is hit with inefficiencies and requires an immediate rethink, the sources alleged. The Express Tribune also learnt that another problem that the delivery inefficiency has created is the rising number of complaints regarding some officials demanding Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 to get smart cards made in a timely fashion.

When asked about the delays in deliveries which was creating room for under the table payments, the Director Excise Region-C Lahore, shunned the allegations and said that delivery was only slow in some places as Pakistan Post’s network was not fully operational. “However, we will overcome these difficulties soon,” Hassan reassured while talking to the Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2022.