No penalty until glitches in HSRP system are fixed, says Delhi transport minister

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday directed officials to ensure that motor vehicle owners are not penalised for failing to have upgraded to high-security registration plates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers until further orders, at least as long as glitches in the system are fixed.

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday directed officials to ensure that motor vehicle owners are not penalised for failing to have upgraded to high-security registration plates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers until further orders, at least as long as glitches in the system are fixed.

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot (File photo)

The direction was issued at a meeting of the Delhi government with stakeholders – also including the National Informatics Centre (NIC), vehicle manufacturers and HSRP manufacturers – which was held on Tuesday for discussions on increasing complaints of applicants not being able to avail the registration plates and fuel stickers from the 236 authorised dealers in the city, said a senior government official.

The minister also said that no new application should be entertained until the backlog is cleared and the current problems are resolved.

A statement issued by the transport minister’s office on Tuesday evening said, “The minister instructed (the) original equipment manufacturers to put a system in place for addressing the grievances of the vehicle owners. He also instructed them not to book any new appointment for HSRP fitment until a proper system is in place and also instructed the transport department to delay enforcement until further orders.”

Gahlot said, “Our objective is public convenience. It was misinterpreted by a section of people that we are immediately enforcing the HSRP rule. This created panic among vehicle owners. We have asked dealers and HSRP manufacturers not to take any further appointments until a proper system is in place. Plus, we are clear on our part that we will give sufficient time to vehicle owners to get the HSRP and colour coded stickers installed before enforcing the HSRP rules.”

A spokesperson of Rosmerta Safety Systems Private Limited – a manufacturer of HSRP – said, “As instructed by the minister, we are putting a system in place addressing the grievances of the vehicle owners and not taking any new appointment for HSRP fitment till further notice… We are submitting the standard operating procedure, (and develop) mobile application and (a) doorstep home fixation system this week. Further, vehicle owners who have booked the plates till today will get them in the next few days.”

On September 23, the Delhi government had issued a public notice asking vehicle owners to avail HSRP and colour-coded stickers at the earliest in order to avoid being penalised under existing laws but it did not mention any deadline in the notice.

Between September 23 and October 5, around 40,000 vehicle owners in the city have applied for HSRP and stickers and around 32,000 of them have so far succeeded, leading to a backlog of at least 8,000 at this point, said a senior official in the transport department. The official added that for the past few days there have been numerous complaints about dealers turning away applicants on time slots booked by them and refusing fresh applications.

The official said there are around 3.2 million vehicles in Delhi — commercial and private — which are supposed to have high-security registration plates. These include around 1.1 million four-wheelers and 1.9 million two-wheelers, while the rest include auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, buses, trucks, and others. The rule applies largely to vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, as vehicles registered after that date are mandatorily equipped with HSRPs and stickers, the official said.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor on Tuesday said that he has written to lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal urging him to involve more authorised dealers and petrol pumps in order to expedite the process.