The Department of Motor Traffic has acknowledged that the removal of the Province indication on vehicle number plates was due to the failure of the project.
During a session with the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF), DMT officials revealed that the Province indication on vehicle number plates was introduced during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
“Province indication was introduced to vehicle number plates to enable the Police to identify the origins of the vehicles during the war. This project was introduced together with the Police Department. The number plates were introduced with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). However, as the Police did not possess the necessary equipment to read the RFID, we decided to remove the province indicator and RFID from vehicle number plates,” the officials revealed.
They further said that the decision for the removal was also due to the public paying large sums for specified number plates.
When inquired by the COPF whether the Police are capable of identifying vehicles now, the DMT officials acknowledged that vehicles cannot be identified in such a manner.
“The Police Department has informed that the system is not required at present, due to no existing war situation. And we do not have any request in this regard,” they added.
Responding to the disclosure, COPF Chair Harsha de Silva said that the project was considered a total waste of public finance.
He said the project had been introduced by the DMT at a time when the Police Department did not possess the necessary equipment to read Radio Frequency Identification on vehicle number plates. (Newswire)