Bhubaneswar, Sep 15 (IANS): Odisha government will start collecting fines from the people who have not fixed High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) on their vehicles with registration numbers ending with 1, 2, 3 and 4 from October 1, an official said on Thursday.

The deadline for affixation of HSRP on the old vehicles registered prior to April 1, 2019, carrying Odisha registration mark and registration number ending with 1, 2, 3 and 4, is going to end on September 30. So, the law enforcing agencies will start enforcement activities on the fitment from October 1, said Dipti Ranjan Patra, joint commissioner transport (technical).

However, no e-challan will be issued and no fine will be collected or no penal action will be taken against any old vehicle for plying without HSRP till this month end, he said.

As on September 13, a total of 10,65,312 vehicle owners have booked slot, out of which HSRP has been affixed in 5,93,717 vehicles, Patra said.

As per schedule, October 31 is the deadline for the Odisha registration of old vehicles with registration number ending with 5 and 6 while the old vehicle with registration number ending with 7 and 8 and 9 and 0 will have to fix the HSRP by November 30 and December 31, respectively.

In case the vehicle is not affixed with HSRP within the scheduled date mentioned above, e-challan will be issued against the offending vehicle and attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 under Section 192 of MV Act, 1988, he warned.

Patra further informed that old number plates are easy to tamper with and can be misused by thieves. However, the HSRP plates come with a non-removable snap-lock and are difficult to replace. These plates are tamper-proof and come with two non-reusable locks, he added.

The state transport department has made affixation of HSRP mandatory since June 1, 2022 for all classes of old vehicles which were registered prior to April 1, 2019. Earlier, the HSRP has already been made mandatory for all new vehicles registered on or after April 1, 2019.