As part of its continued efforts to raise additional resources, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to make High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) mandatory for all vehicles, including older ones, in line with the Supreme Court judgment.
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The cash-starved state government hopes to net over Rs 500 crore from HSRP as each set will cost Rs 245 to Rs 649 for different classes of vehicles.
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Sources in the Transport Department said of the 150 lakh vehicles (transport and non-transport) in the state, about 70 lakh were fitted with HSRPs.
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We have been fixing the HSRPs only from January 2014 though the Supreme Court verdict was delivered in 2011. So many vehicles were still left over, a senior official of the Transport Department said.
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No other state is said to be insisting on HSRPs for old vehicles but the AP government decided to go ahead with the plan to generate the much-needed additional revenue.
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In a memo to all District Transport Officers, state Transport Commissioner Katamneni Bhaskar pointed out that many vehicle owners were using fancy number plates as per their whims. HSRP is compulsory for all vehicles and any deviation will be liable for penalty of Rs 1,000 each, Bhaskar said.
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It is directed to fix the HSRP for in-use and old transport vehicles also. For non-transport vehicles, owners could seek time for a slot to get the HSRP affixed by paying the prescribed fee online, the Commissioner added.
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So far, owners of 8,95,081 vehicles have paid the requisite fee for fixing the HSRP in the first phase. The remaining would be covered in the second phase.
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