Kerala told to fast-track fixing of HSRP on vehicles

The government and people of Kerala must implement, without any further delay, the high security registration plate (HSRP) regime with respect to existing vehicles in the State since it is an imperative for the envisaged road safety of the country at large and as per world standards.

“I request the Kerala Transport department to take steps to implement both the HSRP scheme on vehicles registered before April 1, 2019 and the smart card-based vehicle registration and driving licenses as well,” said Kamal Soi, Member, National Road Safety Council.

Also the Chairman of Raahat – The Safe Community Foundation and a road safety expert, Soi said here that the total number of vehicles on Kerala’s roads is around 1.52 crore and of these nearly 90 per cent feature non-compliant plates.

MoRTH guidelines

It is unfortunate that the HSRP, including the third registration mark, has not been implemented despite the guidelines of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, notifications issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) and various directions issued by the Supreme Court.

As part of his campaign, Soi met with Antony Raju, Kerala’s Minister for Transport, and senior officials in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday to discuss the non-implementation of HSRP on old vehicles and smart card-based vehicle registration and driving license in the State.

Soi recalled the Supreme Court of India’s order of July 13, 2018, that takes serious note of the non-compliance of the HSRP scheme by States and UTs. A certified copy of this order was conveyed to the Chief Secretary of Kerala ‘for information, compliance and necessary action’.

Colour-coded stickers

The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority and the Supreme Court are monitoring the progress of fixing HSRP and colour-coded stickers based on the fuel-type of the motor vehicle. The rule on colour-coded HSRP third sticker had come into force from April 1, 2019.

A vehicle manufacturer should comply with the various procedures in regard to HSRP for a new vehicle to be sold on or after April 1, 2019. The type-approved HSRPs including the third registration mark, shall be supplied by the vehicle manufacturers to their dealers.

Also see: Supply chain snarls could cost automakers $210 billion this year, forecast finds

Soi said that HSRP will ensure the security of vehicles and help identify them in case of accidents or damage. The number plates are written as IND with chromium plating, and therefore, it will be easy to track the numbers even during the night.

Smart driving licenses

Even in the unfortunate event of a vehicle getting burnt in an accident and being abandoned, it is easy to get the details of the owner. But in case the high security plate numbers has also burnt in the accident, the registration number can be identified by touching it, Soi explained.

After the Vahan and Sarathi backend database was established along with the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Applications (SCOSTA) operating system, many States had complied with issue of smart card-based driving licences and vehicle registration certificates in the country, but not Kerala.

The SCOSTA card has physical security features and also contains a chip validated by the NIC-developed software for Key Management System. This ensures that each and every card, after printing and personalisation, is validated through Vahan and Sarathi systems before issue, Soi said.

COMMENT NOW