Bengaluru, 10 Nov

With hardly one week left before the deadline for registering High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP), many motorists in City couldn’t register their vehicles due to technical issues on the website (platehsrp.live). Many are unsure about where to report their concerns and a sense of urgency has spread among them with the deadline of 17 November, 2023, looming near.

Jeevan Das, who owns a Hyundai i20 Active car, said, “I’m trying to register for the HSRP for the past two weeks and there have been a lot of technical issues with the website. I’m not aware where to report my grievance and get it done by the deadline given by the government,” he said.

Additionally, concerns have been raised about the cost of HSRPs, with vendors charging twice and thrice the official pricing provided by Transport Department. While the department states that the cost to register four-wheelers is around Rs 500 and two-wheelers around Rs 300, motorists claim that vendors are charging higher amounts, such as Rs 1,500 for four-wheelers and Rs 700 for two-wheelers. Some motorists also highlight issues with payment processing and express concerns about the security and privacy of the website.

An official from the department said the technical issues plaguing the registration will be solved soon, but vehicles registered before 1 April, 2019, have to affix HSRP as per the mandate of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. “One of the primary reasons for introducing HSRP is to curb the use of fake registration numbers by criminals for illegal activities and to track vehicles for traffic violations," the official said. Bengaluru recorded 3,880 vehicle-theft cases till August this year, with just 803 vehicles recovered, according to the data provided by Bangalore City Police.

However, traffic experts are sceptical about the readiness of the State to handle a high number of HSRPs. Around 2 lakh vehicles out of 2 crore vehicles in State have affixed HSRPs. The experts asked whether the department infrastructure is prepared to manage the large-scale implementation of HSRPs without causing disruptions or delays in the registration.