VIJAYAWADA: The Road Transport Authority (RTA) has registered as many as 1,133 cases in 45 days during a special drive in Krishna district to challan vehicles, which do not have high security registration plates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers.
According to RTA officials, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) made it mandatory for all vehicle owners to fix a high-security registration plate (HSRP) and colour-coded plate on their vehicles. The fine for not affixing HSRP plates on a vehicle can range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
Keeping this in mind, the transport department officials in September warned the violators that stern action will be taken against the vehicle users for violating the Central Motor Vehicle Act.From October 18, the motor vehicle inspectors (MVIs) across the district conducted a special drive to crack whip on the violators.
Deputy Transport Commissioner M Purendra told TNIE that the prime reason for the HSRP being made mandatory is that the old number plates were easy to tamper with and can be misused by criminals. When it comes to the vehicles plying with the HSRP they will have a non-removable snap-on lock and are difficult to replace with.
“The HSRPs comprise details like engine number and chassis number in a centralised database. This data helps in identifying a stolen car. As many as 1,133 cases were registered so far, among them the majority of the vehicles are owned by the government. A penalty of Rs 500 was imposed on the violators,” Purendra said.
Purendra further said the challan drives were also conducted for other offences like riding without helmet, using cell phone while driving, vehicle plying in wrong direction. Among them, 5,957 were booked for riding without limit, followed by triple riding (264), using cell phone while driving (218), vehicle plying in the wrong direction (113), wrong parking (19) and overspeeding (5). “People must adhere to traffic norms and follow all road safety signs while driving. The special drive will continue in the coming days to strictly enforce the HSRP, following the instructions from the Centre,” Purendra said.