To ensure timely home delivery of high-security registration plates (HSRP) and fuel-based colour-coded stickers to vehicle owners in the city, the Delhi government has asked manufacturers to add a real-time tracking feature so that the applicant can track the rider, as is done currently on food delivery apps.
The direction was issued to the three HSRP manufacturers of Delhi in a meeting held on Friday. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is working on creating another parallel system, wherein OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) would get HSRPs and colour-coded stickers affixed on old vehicles that come in for servicing at various centres.
HSRPs are hologram plates made with a laser-branded permanent identification number, which cannot be copied. The colour-coded stickers are meant to identify vehicles based on their fuel type. The stickers also include details such as the registration number, the registering authority, a laser-branded PIN, and the engine and chassis number of the vehicle.
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A senior transport official said there are around 3.2 million vehicles in Delhi — both commercial and private — which are supposed to have these high-security registration plates. The rule applies largely to vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, as vehicles registered after that date are mandatorily equipped with HSRPs and fuel stickers.
“The government has made it clear to HSRP manufacturers that an unreliable home delivery system will not be acceptable. We cannot have a situation where people are given a time and date for delivery of their HSRP and sticker and the rider is unable to arrive on time. So, we have asked them to build a feature where the applicant can track the rider on a real-time basis. It’s similar to the feature which have on food delivery apps,” Gahlot said.
The minister added that many people also complained about the need to fill the entire chassis number, which many found inconvenient. “So, now only the last five digits of engine and chassis number will have to be entered in the software,” he said.
The city administration was flooded with complaints from vehicle owners who had failed to get the high-security number plates despite having paid for them and made the mandatory visit to the vehicle dealer outlets to collect them.
The problem started after the Delhi government, on September 23, issued a public notice asking vehicle owners to get HSRP and colour-coded stickers at the earliest in order to avoid being penalised under existing laws. While the notice did not mention when the crackdown would begin, it created a lot of panic among people and the dealers were flooded with applications for new HSRPs. The result was that there were at least 8,000 pending applications for HSRPs as on October 1, creating a huge backlog and triggering chaos at dealer outlets.
The minister had then directed that no new application should be entertained until the backlog was cleared and the crisis was resolved. At present, the status remains the same, which means even as the backlog has reduced, the manufacturers are still not taking any fresh applications.
A senior official of Rosmerta Safety Systems Private Limited – the primary manufacturer of HSRPs in Delhi – said the home delivery project is in the advanced stages of completion and the final modalities would be ready by Tuesday, when another review meeting is scheduled.
“Thereafter, we are hoping to formally launch the home delivery service by the end of the month or early November. The process will be seamless as the portal for applying will be the same -- bookmyhsrp.com. The user will be given the option to choose home delivery or self pick-up,” said the official on condition of anonymity.
