Pune: Tucked away in a corner of a congested lane in Ghorpede Peth, Rizwan appeared busy applying some yellow stickers on an autorickshaw. Can he make a high-resolution registration plate (HSRP)? “Aaram se bann jayega (It will be made easily),” he said.
“Bike ka Rs800 lagega front and back ka, aur car ka Rs1,000 har ek ke liye. (For bikes, the rate is Rs800 for plates on the front and back, and for cars, it is Rs1,000 for each),” he said.
After some negotiations, he agreed to bring down the rate to Rs600 for a bike and Rs800 for a car. “Bohot log aa rahe hain. Koi documents nahi chahiye. Aap mujhe Rs 500 advance de do aur kal subaah aa jao gaadi lekar. (A lot of people are coming. There is no need for any documents. You pay Rs 500 advance now and come with your vehicles tomorrow morning),” he said.
Another shopkeeper right next to his shop said, “Come tomorrow. I will give you four HSRPs for your bike and car for Rs 800. Ekdam same hoga HSRP jaisa par woh code nahi hoga. Par use koi fark nahi padta. (It will be exactly the same as HSRP. Only thing is that the code will not be there, but it doesn’t matter),” he said.
With the deadline for installation of HSRPs in all vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, nearing, many such shops, which mainly make fancy registration number plates, have jumped into the business of making fake HSRPs.
A person who got the same for his two-wheeler said, “I came to know about it from a friend and got the same in Jan last week. The shop is located at Ambegaon. I was charged Rs 1,300 for HSRPs for my two-wheeler. They had demanded Rs 300 more if it needs to be in a frame.”
TOI contacted another shop at Malwadi in Hadapsar. “For a four-wheeler, the rate is Rs 800 and for a two-wheeler the same is Rs 600. Mind you, it will not be original, and the code will be missing. But nobody will be able to make out whether it is original or fake. I will need a copy of your RC book and will be able to deliver it by evening.
The representative of another shop, located along Pune-Satara Road, was also confident. “Koi bhi check karega par koi fark nahi dikhai dega. (No one will be able to spot any difference). For a bike, my charge is Rs 700 and for a car, the rate is Rs 1,100. Get your RC book and come to me and it will be done within a few hours. I have made these HSRPs for more than 100 people in a month,” the man said.
The state transport department had mandated in Dec last year that all vehicles registered before April 1, 2019 should get HSRPs by March 31. A website (www.mhhsrp.com) has been floated for people to fill in details and get appointments from registered dealers for the same. In Pune, a total of 2,428,589 vehicles would need to get HSRPs. However, until now, a little more than 6,000 vehicles have got HSRPs. In Pimpri Chinchwad, just 1,151 vehicles got the same till Jan-end.
Pune deputy RTO Swapnil Deshmukh said each HSRP has a unique number. “This number is only available with registered vendors and even we don’t have access to it. People should understand that installation of fake numbers is an offence. Also, the fake number will not reflect on Vahan portal and such vehicles will not be able to conduct any kind of transactions. The website has been facing some issues, and a one representative is present at the RTO office to sort out problems,” he said.





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