High-security Numberplates: State Govt May Ask You To Get Them ...

The state government may put the onus of fixing High-Security Number Plates (HSRP) on vehicles manufactured before April 2019 on the owners of the vehicles.

The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) has recently sent a proposal in this regard to the state government about this for approval.

If the state government approves the proposal, the vehicle owners will have to get their existing vehicle fitted with HSRP from automobile dealers, or directly from HSRP manufactures within the deadline set by the government.

The vehicles manufactured from April 2019 onwards are sold after HSRP is fixed at the dealers’ end, after their registration is completed at RTO offices.

Acting on a Supreme Court directive, the Union government wants all vehicles to be fitted with HSRP, in order to curb vehicle thefts.

Made up of the rare aluminum alloy, HSRP plates contain various features that make them tamper-proof, such as a 10-digit unique serial number and chromium-based Ashok Chakra hologram.

Maharashtra has nearly three crore registered vehicles. All of them will have to get HSRPs fixed on the front and rear end of the vehicles, besides a sticker on the windscreen.

Transport commissioner Shekhar Channe said considering the recent amendment in the rule in December 2018, they have sent a proposal to the state government for fitting High-Security Number Plates to old vehicles by the dealers.

“As per the earlier rule, it was mandatory to fix HSRP at RTO premises, but the recent amendment in the rule by the Union government allowed dealers to fix the HSRP,” he said.

The government had begun the tendering process to fit HSRP on all the vehicles on state roads in April 2018.

However, the tender has been given an extension more than 15 times due to various reasons, including the Union government’s decision to amend HSRP rules, last year.

The tender is now scheduled to open in the first week of June.

According to MMVD officials, the tendering process will be scrapped once the state approves their proposal.

If it goes through with the tender process, it will appoint a service provider to provide High-Security Number Plates and also determine its cost.