Orissa High Court Moved For Offline Registration To Fix HSRP

Cuttack: Even as the state government has extended the deadline for online registration for HSRP, a petition has been filed in Orissa High Court seeking its intervention for offline registration.

The petition, filed by social activist Jayanati Das, has stated that common vehicle users are still unaware of the benefits of high security registration plate (HSRP) due to lack of adequate awareness promotion by the government. Besides, majority of them are not conversant with computer operations and online submission of document.

The vehicle owners are also facing problems with online registration and are unable to get slots within the scheduled time despite its deadlines being extended by a month. People in rural areas are also facing problems as online booking systems and fixation centres are not available easily, Das said.

In spite of these drawbacks, the government has announced to impose heavy penalty on the vehicle owners who would not fix the HSRP within the deadline. It would lead to punishment for ignorance of the citizens, the petition stated.

Considering the problems faced by the vehicle owners to apply online, Das appealed to the High Court to direct the government to allow offline registration of HSRP.

It may be noted that the government had earlier directed the State Transport Authority (STA) to ensure that people face no harassment while getting their HSRP fixed.  The STA has been asked to assess the number of old vehicles, and the capacity of HSRP manufacturers and accordingly re-fix the timeline for affixation of the number plate.

Also Read: Odisha Govt May Go Slow On HSRP Enforcement