THE new vehicle registration number plates introduced by the Sindh government are now required by all vehicle-owners across the province. The old ones must be replaced with the new ones within the next few months.

The burden of collecting the new ones at the cost of about Rs2,500 each from various designated places is for the individuals to bear.

Instead of collecting a windfall earning of Rs7.5 billion, the Sindh government should deliver such plates, if they are necessary at all, to each registered address free of charge, instead of burdening the people unnecessarily.

For long, the people of Sindh, especially Karachi, have already been suffering from poor governance, with broken roads, lack of water, lack of security and lack of every single amenity marking their lives.

Undoubtedly, delivering the new number plates free of cost would actually win the Sindh government some brownie points in the name of effective governance.

As things stand, the ruling party in the province will make some money, but lose whatever political leverage it has in the city.

Salmaan Rasheedi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2025