Government vehicles being used with private number plates despite ban

Kathmandu. Since the government decided to give two public holidays a week, government offices have been closed on Saturdays and Sundays. With two holidays every week, employees are getting enough time to travel. For some, it has become easier to travel in government vehicles on holidays. The reason is the trend of putting private number plates on government vehicles. That is, red number plates instead of white. Although there is a provision that government vehicles provided to government employees for use in government work cannot be operated on public holidays, it has become easier for them due to government vehicles with private number plates. The Vehicle and Transport Management Act has made a separate number plate arrangement for the identification of government vehicles. Accordingly, the normal number plate is written in red letters and numbers on a white background, while the embossed number plate has red numbers and letters on a white background. In recent times, there are plenty of government vehicles with private number plates. Because of this, the number plate alone is not an effective means to distinguish which are government vehicles and which are private. High officials defend the use of private number plates on government vehicles as 'security sensitivity'. However, security agency officials say there is no such security threat recently. Anyone who sees a government vehicle with a red number plate running on a public holiday will be curious and inquire about it. However, since government vehicles running with red number plates do not catch anyone's eye, the desire for red number plates has arisen among government officials, according to experts. Why red number plates on government vehicles? In 2057 BS, when the Maoist armed conflict reached its peak, the then government allowed white number plates to be changed to red number plates for the purpose of protecting state property and due to security sensitivity. Since the Ministry of Home Affairs used to approve it, secretaries, undersecretaries, and officers of the ministry also used it. Officials above the rank of officer in the Government of Nepal started getting the facility to use white number plate vehicles. According to government policy, section officers could use motorcycles as needed, some undersecretaries could use motorcycles and some cars, and all above joint secretary level could use car facilities. Such vehicles can only be used for government work. Permission from the District Administration Office is required to drive a government car outside office hours and on holidays. To get rid of this hassle, some government officials have been converting the government vehicles they use into red number plates. To change the white plate number to a red number plate, the Ministry of Home Affairs writes a letter to the Transport Management Office based on the letter of the secretary of the concerned ministry. Based on the Home Ministry's letter, the Transport Office provides such government vehicles with red plate numbers for a maximum of one year, but recently they have been seen to be continuously driven with red plates. It has been almost 20 years since the Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed between the then rebel party CPN (Maoist) and the then government on November 20, 2006, following the People's Movement of 2062/063. However, in the last two decades, the process of changing white number plates to red number plates by showing security sensitivity has not stopped. In 2074 BS, the government led by then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli decided to abolish the decision to put red plates and convert them to white. The decision was made to stop the misuse of government vehicles after it was found that government employees were misusing white number plates by converting them to red. With the completion of elections at all three levels and the arrival of political stability, the ministry had directed to return all those vehicles to government number plates immediately. Similarly, due to public complaints that government vehicles were being used for purposes other than office work on public holidays, the then Ministry of Home Affairs had banned it. See the notice issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to make red plates white
Even though such a decision was made at that time, the trend of changing number plates by showing security reasons has not stopped even now. During the Genji movement on August 23 and 24, 2082 BS, the youth put forward the agenda of good governance. With the government recently making public a 100-point agenda prioritizing good governance, the process of pointing out irregularities and corruption at the citizen level is also increasing. Government employees themselves say that some people use red number plates because it is inconvenient to operate government-provided vehicles with government number plates during public holidays, but it is possible to use them anytime with red number plates. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs source, the heads and officials of bodies related to security sensitivity are given permission to change white number plates to red number plates with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Security officials say that the decision to change white number plates to red plates with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs, especially for high-ranking officials, security personnel, ministers, ministry secretaries, and investigation officers who were targeted by the then Maoists during the armed conflict, is still considered a tradition. According to them, although the decision to make red plates for security was made in the special circumstances of the conflict period, the series of misuse has increased due to the continuation of such practices under various pretexts. Who rides red plate vehicles? Home Secretary Ramraj Kharel is using a Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle with the number Bagmati Province-01-034-2129. Although the vehicle is government-owned, it has a private number plate. Even though there is no security threat in the current situation, Secretary Kharel is using a red plate vehicle. James Karki, personal secretary to Home Minister Sudhan Gurung, is using a Scorpio with the number Bagmati Province-01-034-4655. The vehicle was given to Nepal by the Indian government before the House of Representatives election held on February 21, 2082 BS. Karki removed the sticker 'Nepal India Cooperation' written on the vehicle and used it. Officials and employees of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, as well as many officials working in the Prime Minister's Office and Council of Ministers, are using red plate vehicles in this way. An official from the Ministry of Home Affairs says, 'Many vehicles of the Prime Minister's Office have now been decided to be converted to red plates.' Secretaries and influential joint secretaries of the ministry also ride such vehicles. According to that official, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority converts its vehicles to red number plates in one go. The commission continues the process every year. Not only the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, but also the heads of investigative bodies like the Department of Money Laundering Investigation and the Revenue Investigation Department ride government vehicles with red number plates. The Central Bureau of Investigation, the Narcotics Control Bureau, and the Special Bureau of the Police have changed the number plates of some vehicles they use. Vehicles whose number plates have been changed are parked in places that are not easily visible. Many vehicles have different number plates written on the inside and outside of one plate. They are changed on the road according to the situation. Former DIG Hemant Malla says that it is wrong for government officials other than undercover investigators to ride government vehicles with red plates. He asks, 'Why do secretaries and ministers need government vehicles with private numbers?' Malla said that the misuse of red number plates is due to the fear of being exposed when riding white plate vehicles on holidays. He said, 'This trend increases the misuse of government vehicles on holidays.' Malla said that even police working in uniform do not need red plate vehicles. He said, 'Except for agencies conducting undercover investigations, no one else needs red plate vehicles.' On holidays, if government vehicles are found to be used for travel, parties, picnics, or pilgrimages, locals raise questions. There are many videos on social media where locals have stopped vehicles and questioned government employees and officials. A retired secretary said that to get rid of such hassle, government employees are exploiting government property by using private number plates. Ministry officials say that vehicles used for investigation are allowed to have red plates. When information was sought about why government vehicles were given red number plates and who the officials using red plate government vehicles are, the Ministry of Home Affairs replied that it is not possible to provide such details due to security reasons. The ministry stated that the conversion from white number plates to red number plates is done according to the decision of the Council of Ministers and the Transport Management Work Procedure Directive-2060. Stating that it is not possible to provide the details of the officials using such vehicles and their vehicle numbers, the ministry said in a letter provided to Ratopati, 'Due to security sensitivity, the vehicle number of the official using the vehicle is not considered to be provided under Section 3 of the Right to Information Act, 2064.' Judges also on 'government' vehicles with red plates Judges from the District Court to the Supreme Court have been using government vehicles with red number plates instead of white number plates. Citing security sensitivity as a reason, judges use red number plates on government vehicles they use instead of white number plates. It is said that judges ride vehicles with red number plates due to security threats from parties dissatisfied with the orders and judgments they make. With the increase in security challenges for judges, the Supreme Court administration had corresponded with the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2068 BS requesting the conversion of white number vehicles to red number plates. Based on the Supreme Court's letter, the government made a policy decision on Bhadra 30, 2068 BS to use red number plates for judges at all levels. On May 18, 2069 BS, former Supreme Court Justice Ran Bahadur Bam was murdered. The main planner of the murder, Babu Thapa of the then Chure Bhaver Party, was arrested 31 months later on January 2, 2071 BS and presented by the police. In the police investigation, planner Thapa stated to the police that the main reason for the murder of Justice Bam was related to the verdict given by his bench. With the added security challenges for judges, judges from the district to the Supreme Court have been rapidly changing the number plates of government vehicles they use from white to red with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to court sources, government vehicles are being operated with private number plates. Race to hide information: Center shows province, province shows traditional registers Government bodies have mysteriously hidden information about the use of government (white) number plate vehicles with private (red) number plates and the legal basis for it. In response to the information sought using the right to information, the Department of Transport Management of the federal government and the Transport Management Office under the Bagmati Province Government, which manages small and large vehicles in Ekantakuna, kept pushing the responsibility to each other, delaying the provision of details. They tried to hide the information by passing it on to each other. Ratopati had sought information from both bodies about the number of vehicles converted from government to private number plates in the last 5 years, revenue, and legal process. However, the responses from both offices have clearly exposed the mess in the management of government vehicle records and the lack of transparency. The Department of Transport Management stated that it is a federal government body and that vehicle registration, renewal, and plate change work fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, thus evading responsibility. In the response sent via email, the department stated, 'All vehicle-related work is kept under the jurisdiction of the provincial government. As the department is an office under the federal government, it has no authority or responsibility in this matter.' The department suggested the applicant inquire with the provincial transport ministry, stating that it has no 'authority and responsibility' in this matter. The response given to the application submitted to the Transport Management Office under the Bagmati Province, Ekantakuna, is even more strange and irresponsible. The office, using the excuse that its record system is still 'based on traditional registers or files', has given the answer that it is 'impossible to confirm' which body has how many vehicles. Amidst the slogan of Digital Nepal, government offices have obstructed the right to information by stating that they cannot provide details because 'traditional registers are in files'. According to the response from the Ekantakuna office, if a government vehicle used by any commission, mission, or specific person needs to be permanently changed to a private (red) plate, a 'letter of approval' from the Ministry of Home Affairs must be submitted. However, the letter states that based on such recommendations, red plates will be provided temporarily for a maximum of one year, after which they should be operated with the original government number. When asked for details of the revenue received by the state when changing plates, the office did not provide any concrete data. The office only gave a general answer that the taxes and renewal fees to be paid by vehicles registered in the name of government bodies are paid regularly according to the prevailing law. The fact that the center shows jurisdiction and the province makes an excuse of the 'register system' in response to the information sought on suspicion of misuse of government vehicles by converting them to private plates strengthens the suspicion that there is a big secret behind this. On one hand, the center does not have integrated data, and on the other hand, the implementing provincial office says that we have records but cannot count, which shows that the misuse of government property is being encouraged. This has exposed a great lack of transparency in the inventory of government vehicles and the process of changing their plates. (Report prepared by Rajesh Bhandari, Nirajan Poudel, and Kalpana Ghimire)