Embossed Number Plates: Burden Over Benefit

In Nepal, government agencies often feel more like tools for intimidating citizens than offering public service. They bring hardship instead of convenience. Instead of helping people, the government keeps adding burdens, expecting full compliance from citizens. The current debate over embossed number plates is a clear example. This policy has been controversial and incomplete for nine years. Court orders, public protests, objections from civil society and businesses and poor infrastructure have repeatedly delayed it. Yet the government now plans to make it mandatory from September 17. Without proper preparation, infrastructure and capacity, this decision will only make life harder for citizens, not easier. Currently, around 6.5 million vehicles are registered, yet the government has procured only 2.5 million plates. Fewer than 100,000 vehicles nationwide have embossed number plates installed, creating a huge gap between supply and demand. Despite this, the government insists that all citizens must compulsorily install the embossed number plates, a directive that appears more an assertion of administrative ego than a pragmatic policy.