The transport department is gearing up to call for tenders for the high-security number plates following a Supreme Court order that the process should be complete before March 2012.
The transport department will be drawing up plans to implement the project. The issue was in cold storage for the last six months as it was found to be a costly proposition. While the court has set a deadline, the government might seek some more time.
An electronic chip would be installed in the number plate made of aluminium and coated with chrome.
The chip fixed in the plate would allow the officials to track the vehicle. The transport department will advise the vehicle owners to fix the high security number plates at the earliest. The number plate will also have Ashoka Chakra inscribed in the middle.
The project got delayed because of various problems. It was supposed to have been done as early as 2005.
“We have decided to hand over the responsibility of manufacturing and vending the high security number plates to APSRTC” said transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana.
The State Road Transport Authority will assist APSRTC in this regard, he stated.
Botsa Satyanarayana, at an earlier meeting, said the APSRTC wanted to provide the number plates at a cost of less than Rs.500 each.
The transport department will enforce the new number plates in the twin cities as a pilot project.
“The new number plates will display the chassis and engine number of the vehicle, apart from the registration number,” according to officials of RTA in Khairatabad.
“They will have a uniform serial number for the entire country and a unique hologram that cannot be duplicated.” The police and the transport department say that this would help prevent vehicle thefts and also enable tracking of stolen vehicles.
In Chandigarh, after the bids were finalised, it was decided that the number plate for a four-wheeler could be priced between Rs.400-500 as against Rs.1,000, and the ones for two-wheelers are expected to be available at around Rs.200, as against Rs.300 proposed earlier.
Satyanarayana said his department would issue a notification calling for fresh tenders from suppliers for high-security number plates (HSNP) in two or three days.
source: http://www.postnoon.com / Home> City / by Srinivas. U. / February 13th, 2012