Manage Driving Licence System Well

The other day, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ discussed the issue of driving licences with the officials of the Department of Transport Management (DOTM). During the discussion, the Prime Minister expressed concern about the shambolic situation of the distribution of driving licences as well as the case of fake driving licences issued by transport offices across the country. He directed the officials of the DOTM to look into the current situation and find solutions thereto. 

The Prime Minister also directed the officials of the DOTM to make the digital system of managing driving licences more systematic by upgrading and updating it. The Prime Minister wondered whether it was a structural problem or intentional. As the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is approaching and the government’s policy and programmes are being prepared, the Prime Minister directed the officials of the DOTM to come up with concrete suggestions and measures aimed at improving the existing system of printing and distributing driving licences within a short span of time. In fact, the digital system of printing driving licences has been discommoding service seekers beyond measure for years.

Public outrage

Before smart driving licences were introduced, cardboard driving licences were in use. Such licences used to be distributed within a week. When smart driving licences were launched in 2015, all was alright at the beginning. But later on, there emerged the problem with printing and distribution. As a result, at present the DOTM cannot distribute driving licences even within a year. This has engendered public outrage against and dissatisfaction with the DOTM. However, the DOTM has prioritied the distribution of driving licences to those going abroad for foreign employment or studies. 

With the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal in 2015, transport offices have fallen under the jurisdiction of provincial governments. There are 35 transport offices across the country. But such transport offices are not technically equipped to print driving licences. That is why, the printing of driving licences is being done by the DOTM, which is under the federal government. 

With the growth in population, the demand for driving licences is on the rise. It is said that 4,000 to 5,000 – both new and renewed – driving licences are required printing on a daily basis. But the DOTM is not in a position to print such a large number of driving licences. Moreover, the number of printers is not adequate. On top of that, the printers break down time and again. That the printing of driving licences was halted for six months from mid-June 2023 accounts for why there are delays in distributing driving licences. 

When the present government came to power, it vowed to streamline the public service delivery system, arousing hope in people that public service delivery would be back on track. Some public offices were also visited by the ministers to take stock of the public service being rendered there. But with the passage of time, all the commitments of the government have been reduced to a whimper, which has disappointed people.

In the meantime, the issue of fake licences has also come out into the open. The DOTM formed a committee to investigate the case. The report was then submitted to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). As per the report, there are gross irregularities in the distribution of driving licences. Over the past ten years, over one hundred thousand fake licences have been distributed in collusion with the employees of the DOTM and middlemen. The middlemen or intermediaries coordinate with the information technology employees of transport offices in keeping records of the driving licences distributed by keeping old dates. 

During the investigation, it was found that the details of the 73,000 driving licences were found altered and kept under different names. The other 23,000 fake driving licences, which were about to be distributed, were stopped from being distributed. The names and other details of driving licences are changed in the database itself and fake driving licences are issued. It is alleged that a person can obtain a fake driving licence by paying anywhere between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 50,000 to a middleman. Many driving licences are found to have been distributed to people without conducting written exams and trials in collusion with the employees of transport offices. The transport offices in Birginj, Pokhara, Narayani and other places are involved in such a scam. 

Irregularities

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police is also investigating the fake driving licence irregularities. The bureau has arrested several people in this connection. Moreover, the bureau has placed under scrutiny the ten former Directors-General of the DOTM, during whose tenure the fake driving licences were issued. The Directors-General may have been involved in the scam or they may have been inefficient in preventing the scam. The truth will come out after the investigation has been completed.

There are inordinate delays in obtaining driving licences. Waiting for over a year is not a small deal. In April 2023, then-Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala told the House of Representatives that the government would extend the validity of driving licences from five years to 10 years by amending the necessary laws. This would reduce the burden of printing driving licences and people would not have to use their vehicles on payment receipts. However, the process of extending the validity has not moved ahead. It seems the government is not serious about the woes of people. It is high time the government streamlined the printing and distribution of driving licences in time and it would not be reasonable under any circumstances to use vehicles on payment receipts. 

(Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000.)