Maharashtra: RTO launches drive against vehicles with fancy number plates

The Maharashtra Regional Transport Office RTO has launched a statewide crackdown on vehicles with fancy number plates and those without HighSecurity Registration Plates HSRP the officials said on Wednesday reported the PTIAll Regional Transport Offices RTOs have been instructed to conduct a monthlong special drive from February 18 to March 15 as per a directive issued on MondayAn RTO official said vehicles registered after April 1 2019 and still plying sans mandatory HSRP will be fined Rs 1000 under section 1901 of the Motor Vehicles ActAccording to the PTI the official said that the action would also be taken against those vehicles registered before April 1 2019 for displaying fancy number plates that violate Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 especially those bearing names like Kaka Mama and DadaRTO officials said vehicles without HSRP and those showcasing fancy number plates will be fined Rs 1000However a retired transport department official pointed out that while the transport commissioners office has instructed action under section 1901 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 penalties for vehicles without HSRP can only be imposed under section 177 of the ActHe highlighted that section 1901 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 deals with punishment for using a vehicle in an unsafe condition that endangers public safetyThe transport departments appeal which was published a day before warned vehicle owners to install HSRP by April 30 2025 to avoid a fine of Rs 1000 under Rule 50 of CMVR and Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988Interestingly the special drive was launched just a day before the transport department extended the deadline till April 30 from March 31 for installing HSRP on vehicles registered before April 1 2019 citing low complianceAlthough the special drive targets new vehicles registered after April 1 2019 without HSRP and old vehicles registered before April 1 2019 with fancy number plates the timing suggests it aims to pressurise vehicle owners to fix HSRP for the benefit of companies authorised to affix them the retired official claimed as per the PTIHSRP plates are made of a rare aluminium alloy and feature a retroreflective film with the verification inscription India a chromiumbased Ashok Chakra hologram the hotstamped letters IND in blue and a 10digit laserengraved serial number making them tamperproofThe Transport Commissioners Office has appointed three agencies to install HSRP in three zones across MaharashtraTo get the HSRP plates installed vehicle owners will need to pay between Rs 531 and Rs 879 including GST and the cost of snap locks according to Maharashtras transport departmentAccording to the HSRP tender documents about 210 crore vehicles including 162 crore twowheelers and 33 lakh fourwheelers were registered in Maharashtra between 2008 and 2019with PTI inputs