Poor response to vehicle number portability scheme might stall it

Upset with very poor response to vehicle number portability (VNP) across the state, the transport department is considering withdrawing the scheme.

Upset with very poor response to vehicle number portability (VNP) across the state, the transport department is considering withdrawing the scheme. However, no deadline has been set to scrap the scheme as some issues are yet unresolved.

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Transport commissioner VN More confirmed the same. "We are thinking of withdrawing the VNP scheme as it got very poor response across the state. Even the Union government has raised some serious objections which were overlooked while implementing the scheme," he said.

Just like mobile number portability scheme, vehicle number portablility allows vehicle owners to retain the old number though they change their vehicles. One has to pay Rs25,000 to the transport department for the same.

The number of vehicle owners who opted for the scheme in the state was around 200 in more than a year. "Not a single person applied for VNP to us since the scheme started," said a senior RTO official from Wadala.

Considering the huge demand for attractive numbers from vehicle owners, the transport department had launched the scheme VNP around two years ago. But the scheme failed to attract vehicle owners.

According to a top transport department official, there are various issues including security risks in the scheme. Apart from this, there is a probability of mistakes and mismanagement in the entire vehicle numbering system due to the scheme.

The transport department hasn't withdrawn the scheme yet due to some legal issues. "There are issues like what to do with the vehicle owners who have already applied and so on. This is our prime concern," added the official.