But of the existing 74 lakh registered vehicles in Telangana, only two lakh of them have High Security Number Plates (HSNP) with the ‘TS’ registration. The rest, even those fitted with HSNP numbers prior to the State’s creation in 2014, will have to change their plates given the latest government order, which has set a time frame of four months to complete the task.
Though it may sound like a simple job of simply changing alphabet, the process may become a burden for those who will shift to Andhra Pradesh, once the State readies its new capital. It would entail huge logistics, which Transport Department officials are keeping mum about.
An employee with that State will have to change the number plate here and when they shift to the new capital, have to re-register the vehicle.
“My sister works for the Andhra Pradesh government and she has received orders to shift to Vijayawada in a year or so. Her car and scooter are registered in Hyderabad, and now does not know what to do about the registration,” said Satya Pamula, who works for a private organisation in the city.
He pointed out that even if his sister takes her vehicles to the other State now, the same number would not be valid.
Surendra, an employee with the Andhra Pradesh government however, felt that having HSNP on all vehicles is a good thing. “But the citizens must not be made to pay for the monetary burden, and the government should take care of it,” he said.
The order has also put radium and private number plate shop owners in a quandary.
“After the introduction of HSNP, our business is running on old vehicles. But, if even those have to be changed to HSNP, then we will have to look for other jobs,” rued Shekhar, who has been working for a private number plate shop for the last three years in Secunderabad, near the Patny Circle.
Mohammed Kareem, who works at a radium sticker shop at Panjagutta, said that some customers come to them and remove the HSNP number plates from their vehicles. “They say that those who fit the HSNP at the Road Transport Authority (RTA) offices do not know how to do it properly,” he added, showing a few of the HSNP plates in his shop. And what about old HSNP numbers with ‘AP’ registration, which were fitted before bifurcation? Even RTA officials do not have an answer to that.
When contacted, a senior RTA official said that guidelines are expected in the coming weeks about the change. “Only once they are issued, we will know what to do. Only then there will be clarity,” he added.
At present, Linc Autotech Ltd., is the only company that manufactures HSNP for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
My sister works for the AP government and she has to shift to Vijayawada. Her vehicles were registered in Hyderabad, and now she does not know what to do about the registration. - Satya Pamula
