35L Vehicles Sans HSRP In MP, To Face Penalty After Dec 15

Indore: With hardly a week to deadline, there are still at least 35 lakh vehicles in Madhya Pradesh that are yet to be fitted with high security registration plate (HSRP). After December 15, the regional transport office (RTO) with help of other agencies will start a drive to slap penalty against the violators.

According to senior transport officials, a high security registration plate (HSRP), along with a colour-coded fuel sticker on the third registration plate, is a mandatory norm for vehicles sold before 1st April 2019.

HSRP is aluminum and fixed on the vehicle with non-reusable locks. The plate has a hot-stamped chromium-based hologram of the Ashok Chakra on the top left corner, they added.

“In Madhya Pradesh, there were around 50 lakh vehicles that were registered between October 2014 and April 2019, during which, a contract assigned to Link Utsav Registration Plates Private Limited was lying suspended,” additional transport commissioner Arvind Kumar Saxena said.

He added that the contract, after some legal battles and following the court’s instructions, has been reinstated some months before and the company has started fitting HSRP on the vehicles.

“Still there are around 35-40 lakh vehicles across the state that are yet to be fitted HSRP and December 15 is last date for it,” he said, adding that people are requested to fit HSRP in their vehicles as after the deadline, the transport, with help of traffic and other enforcement agencies, will launch a checking drive to slap penalty against the violators.

According to senior transport officials, all documents including fitness and insurance of the vehicle should be completed to get HSRP fitted on it.

“The non-commercial vehicles, even after passing 15-years of its life, can get HSRP installed on having all their documents completed,” they said, adding that HSRP can be booked online for the vehicles, which are registered in other states too.

“There are around 5 lakh vehicles in Indore that are yet to be fitted with HSRP. The owners are requested to get it fitted in next one week or they will have to face heavy penalty,” Indore RTO Pradeep Kumar Sharma said, adding that HSRP is only issued after the digital registration of the vehicle and is linked to the vehicle and in this way, the plates cannot be used on a different car and should act as a deterrent to theft and any other kind of misuse of these plates.

“There’s also a 10-digit PIN engraved in the reflective sheet. It has a hot-stamped film on the registration numerals and letters reading ‘IND’ (India) at a 45-degree angle that prevents tampering and it is very difficult to replace,” he said, adding that the plate also contains important details like engine number and chassis number in a database.

“This, along with the PIN, are important if a stolen car needs to be identified,” he said, adding that the font also makes it easier for the police to read the numbers.

“If any vehicle is caught without HSRP after December 15, its owner will have to pay a penalty of at least Rs 500 at the first instance,” he said.