BENGALURU: Despite extending the deadline for affixing High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) four times, hardly one-fourth of the 2 crore vehicles in the state have fallen in line. The latest deadline ended on Sunday (September 15).
The Karnataka government, through a notification in August last year, made HSRP mandatory for all vehicles registered before April 2019, and gave a deadline of November 2023. However, due to poor response and citing that it had to create awareness and give people enough time, it was extended to February and again pushed to May 31.
Again citing poor response, and that a case relating to HSRP was in court, the state transport department stated that it couldn’t take up wide publicity, and got another excuse to extend the deadline to September 15.
Now, neither is there an official notification on the extension of the deadline, nor has the transport department taken a firm decision to start enforcement against those who have not affixed HSRP.
A transport department source said, “As nearly 1.5 crore vehicles are yet to install the high security number plates, the department may extend the deadline after getting a nod from Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.”
“Many vehicle owners have placed their request for new number plates. However, there are many who couldn’t go to the vehicle dealer and get them affixed to their vehicles. There are hundreds of number plates lying with vehicle dealers. Only after they are fitted to the vehicles, the HSRP process will end and numbers will go up,” he added.