Bengaluru traffic
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Vehicle owners have three more months to affix High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs).
On Wednesday, Karnataka's Transport Department issued a notification, giving vehicle owners time until September 15, 2024, to affix the HSRPs.
All vehicles registered in Karnataka before April 1, 2019, have to meet the requirement. Vehicles registered after April 1, 2019, get the HSRP at the time of registration itself.
This is the fourth time the Transport Department has extended the deadline for affixing the HSRPs. The previous deadlines were November 17, 2023, February 17, 2024, and May 17, 2024.
Responding to a petition filed by the HSRP Manufacturers’ Association of India and others, the Transport Department told the High Court of Karnataka last month that it would not take any “precipitative action” until June 12 against violating vehicles.
The high court is hearing writ petitions against the department’s August 17, 2023, notification, which mandates that vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, affix the HSRPs through OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and their authorised dealers.
The petitioners argue that all licenced number plate manufacturers having Type Approval Certificates (TACs) should also be allowed to affix the registration plates.
Vehicle owners who do not get the HSRPs may have to pay a fine or face other penal action.
Just about 20% of the two crore vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, have affixed the HSRPs so far.
Many vehicle owners cite the tedious procedure and confusion about vendors for not affixing the HSRPs.
What is an HSRP?
An HSRP is an aluminium plate with a hot-stamped chromium-based hologram containing the Ashoka Chakra and a laser-engraved 12-digit alphanumeric permanent identification number linked to vehicle details on the Vahan portal.
It is affixed at the front and the back with two snap rivets that cannot be removed or reused.
The HSRP requirement is aimed at identifying all vehicles plying on roads, reducing vehicle-borne crimes and preventing tampering with or counterfeiting of number plates.