Hi-tech licence, number plate plan gathers dust

KATHMANDU, MAR 12 -

The government’s plan to implement electronic driving licences and embossed number plates for motor vehicles continues to flounder aimlessly since it was announced in 2007. The scheme was scheduled to launch in 2010. However, officials at the Department of Transport Management have said it does not look like happening during the current fiscal year either.

Transport Department officials said the project could not make progress due to probes by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for possible irregularities and “procedural delays”. They added that an evaluation of the technical proposals submitted by 13 national and international firms for introducing electronic driving licences had been completed and sent to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for approval.

“As soon as we receive the ADB’s okay, we will invite financial proposals from the firms that are technically capable of bringing technology to produce the modern driving licences,” said department director Sarad Adhikari. He added that they were also waiting for the final go-ahead from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management to call for global tenders for the embossed number plate system.

The department plans to implement the machine readable electronic driving licence and blue book system as part of the ICT Development Project under a grant assistance of US$ 2.3 million from the ADB. After the project is implemented, driving licences and blue books will be changed into smartcards with all the vital information stored on them. This is expected to help prevent duplication of licences, blue books and other vehicle related documents, and keep electronic records of all the vehicle owners.

All the documents related to the plan to enforce electronic driving licences and embossed license plates were seized and investigated by the CIAA in 2010. The department said that it revitalised the project following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office last year. The amended Transport Management Regulation 1997 has made embossed number plates on vehicles mandatory. However, the provision remains on paper due to endless delays.

Adhikari said that if things go as per their plan, electronic driving licences could be in place within the current fiscal year. However, a source at the Transport Ministry said that it would be at least a year after the selection of the successful bidder. “The consulting firm has to procure hardware, develop software, build networks connecting all the zonal transport management offices and train government officials before bringing the system into practice,” said the source.

Source: The Kathmandu Post