More than 70,000 applicants have been waiting to receive their motorcycle registration plates for two years despite payment of fee, The Express Tribune has learnt.
More than 1,000 people visit the excise office daily seeking to get the plates, but are returned. Most of them say they have been given new dates every time they have visited the office.
Muhammad Rameez, who applied for a registration plate in 2011, says he is frequently stopped by traffic wardens. He claimed that several motorcycles used by the city police also do not have registration plates.
He said most wardens want to be bribed over lack of a registration plate. He said people’s money was stuck with the department and feared that after such a long time, they (applicants) would be asked to pay again.
Hanif Khan, a traffic warden, told The Express Tribune that drivers who present payment receipts for registration plates are not fined.
Those who fail to produce them, he said, cannot be let go without a fine.
“In that case, we cannot tell if the driver is telling the truth.”
Excise Taxation Officer Ghiasuddin told The Express Tribune that registration plates had not been issued since 2011. He said tenders for supply of material had been cancelled. New tenders would be given soon and the problem would be solved, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2013.