Madhya Pradesh transport department has decided to move an application to Jabalpur bench of high court on Tuesday appealing for a fresh deadline for fitting high security registration plate in vehicles since around 70 lakh vehicles are still without HSRP in the state.
The second deadline to install HSRP in vehicles ended on Monday.
“Jabalpur bench of high court had extended the deadline of installing HSRP in vehicles for a month from December 15, 2023 to Janaury 15, 2024 as lakhs of vehicles were not having HSRP. But, now, also 70 lakh are yet to get HSRP. So, the department is going to submit an application before the high court on Tuesday, requesting next six months of time to ensure installation of HSRP in the remaining vehicles,” said additional transport commissioner Arvind Kumar Saxena.
“Initially, many vehicle owners claimed to have install HSRP. But when we asked them to upload the details on the portal, they failed. After verification, we found that about 70 lakh vehicles out of total around 1.74 crore across the state are yet to be fitted with the smart registration plate,” he explained.
Hearing on the department’s application is likely on Tuesday and based on the court’s verdict, further course of actions will be decided, Saxena added.
“We are looking to get next six-months of extension as delivery/installation of HSRP, after placing the request, is taking around 8-10 days or more depending on different districts, while many associations of the bus and truck operators have sought next few months of time for them to install the smart registration plate on their vehicles,” he said.
An additional affidavit filed by the state government on July, 11, 2023 in a writ petition regarding implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Motor Vehicle Rules had said that the Clause 11 and 12 would be implemented within six months.
The additional advocate general had submitted that on or before January 15, 2024, every single vehicle in the state will conform to the high security registration plates. He further submitted that in case even a single vehicle is found with default, the concerned, namely, the transport commissioner and the additional inspector general of police would be liable for proceedings for contempt. The intervening petition was disposed of by the court and called for a hearing into the petition on Tuesday.
According to Indore RTO Pradeep Kumar Sharma, all required efforts ar. being made, but there are still at least 4 lakh vehicles in Indore without HSRP.
He said that HSRP, along with a colour-coded fuel sticker on the third registration plate, is a mandatory norm for vehicles sold before April 1, 2019. HSRP is made of aluminium and fixed on the vehicle with non-reusable locks.
The plate, which has a hot-stamped chromium-based hologram of the Ashok Chakra on the top left corner, comes with many other features.
