Mandatory High Security Registration Plates, coloured coded stickers for Delhi NCT vehicles

In the midst of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, panic and restrictions, the Transport Department of Delhi, in a public noticed issued on September 22, 2020, warned owners of new and old vehicles registered in NCT of Delhi to immediately install High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) including the third registration mark (colour coded sticker) on their vehicles.

According to officials, fines up to Rs 10,000 would be imposed on those who do not adhere to this. The second offence will invite a penalty of Rs 5000. The Transport Department warned that it would be soon starting an enforcement drive and in all probability, it would be four wheelers that would be checked before they move on to two-wheelers.

The Transport Department of Delhi through the public notice advertisement in a prominent newspaper informed the general public that the installation of High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) including the third registration mark (colour coded sticker) on new and old vehicles registered in NCT of Delhi is a mandatory requirement.

The notice stated that Transport Department has authorised the dealers of the OEMs to affix colour coded sticker and HSRP on all old vehicles. The owners of old and existing vehicles are advised to approach their concerned dealers (of their vehicle’s make) for getting affixed both the HSRP including the colour coded sticker, the department notified. Those who do not affix both these are liable to be prosecuted under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and CMV Rules, 1989.

The list of dealers is available on the department’s website http://transport.delhi.gov.in  People in the Capital city of Delhi are surprised by the timing of this announcement. “Why are they doing it now? We are so scared to go to any public place and are trying to lead a secure and safe life. Now the government is asking us to get these new number plates and stickers installed. It makes no sense,” said Bhagwan Das, a resident of Munirka in South Delhi, who owns a petrol car which he had bought in 2006 and has one more year with his car before he has to send it to the scrap yard.

The life of a diesel vehicle in Delhi is ten years, while that of a petrol vehicle is 15 years. Thus, anyone who purchased a diesel vehicle in 2010 should be ready to scrap their vehicle in 2020, while those who purchased a petrol vehicle in 2005 should be ready to scrap their vehicle in 2020. Those who purchased prior to these years, have anyway no right to ply their vehicles on Delhi road as it is illegal.

“Don’t these people hear the constant government message on covid on the mobile phone?” he asked.  Every time you try calling up someone on your mobile phone, you get to hear a lady’s voice telling you in Hindi "Namaskar. Coronavirus ya Covid-19 se aaj poora desh lad raha hai (the entire country is fighting against coronavirus…]". The voice goes on to advise people to "stay home, stay safe" - not to leave home unless absolutely necessary, wear a face mask when going out, wash hands frequently with soap and maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Das pointed out that on one side the government is telling everybody to stay indoors and be safe, on the other it is asking people to go and take their cars to a dealer to fix the new plates and sticker.  So what is this fuss about?

High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs): In order to curb theft of vehicles, the government since 2012 made it mandatory for all new vehicles to be sold with the new HSRP. The plate has a uniform pattern of displaying the vehicle’s registration, which remains identical all over the country.

These HSRP plates are made of aluminum, with unique details other than the registration number itself. It features a unique (minimum) seven-digit laser code, a chakra hologram to prevent counterfeiting, a self destructive sticker with engine and chassis number of the vehicle. The letters “IND” is inscribed in the color blue. The word ‘INDIA’ is inscribed at a 45 degree angle in hot stamping foil across all letters and numbers on the plate. The HSRP plates are fixed to the vehicle with the help of non-removable snap which break if someone tries to remove it, thus making it unusable.  Basically, it is tamperproof.

“I bought a motorcycle a year or so back and it came with the HSRP. Someone stole my bike a few months back and it has yet to be recovered. How has this number plate prevented a theft? I really do not understand,” said Abdul Raheem, a resident of Jamia Nagar in Delhi.

COLOUR CODED STICKER: This rule became mandatory for Delhi in April 2019. But later the transport department and the Supreme Court wanted these for all vehicles, even for those registered before 2012. Now with the latest Delhi Transport Department notice, all vehicles in Delhi need both these with immediate effect. What are colour-coded stickers?

There are around 40 lakh vehicle that would require both these in Delhi NCT. Colour-coded stickers are meant to identify a vehicle based on their fuel type. Thus, a light blue sticker would be applicable for Petrol and CNG vehicles, while a diesel vehicle will come with a orange sticker. This sticker needs to be stuck on the windscreen of a car.

The colour-coded stickers bear details such as the registration number, the registering authority, a laser-branded PIN, and engine and chassis numbers of the vehicle and the date on which the vehicle was registered with the authorities.  But what is the use of a colour coded sticker?

The proposal for colour coding was mooted in 2018 by advocate Aparajita Singh, who was assisting the Supreme Court as amicus curiae in pollution related matters. During that time Delhi was battling massive pollution and she pleaded that colour coding would be more effective than ‘even-odd scheme’ in controlling pollution whenever it reached alarming level as the authorities could identify polluting vehicles without examining them.

She had told the bench then that “It is important to classify fuel according to its polluting properties. This would help policy-makers and public in identifying cleaner vehicles. Paris has classified vehicles into six categories based on fuel and issued colour-coded stickers for identification. Similar colour-coded stickers can be used to identify vehicles in India and restrict the use of dirtier vehicles during poor category days. This would be more scientific than the ‘odd and even scheme’ that is being followed presently.”  Thus came in the enforcement of colour code stickers.  But at Motown India, with all due respect to the courts and government officials, we are not convinced at all by this argument. You do not need a colour code sticker to identify a polluting vehicle. You can simply identify any vehicle without even a sticker.

In order to curb pollution, the government has in place a pollution checking mechanism. It is the PUC certificate which is valid for a maximum of one year for BS IV and BS VI vehicles, while for the remaining vehicles it can be valid for a maximum of only three months.

COLOUR CODE STICKER WITHOUT COLOUR:  While it is a blue sticker for petrol and CNG, it is orange for diesel. But a scrutiny of new vehicles registered in 2019 and even in some cases in 2020, it has been noticed that while the vehicles have come with HSRP, they have not come with coloured stickers. In some cases there is no sticker on the windscreen, while in others we found out colour less stickers.

Many people are also under the wrong impression that the company fitted green coloured sticker which says “Non Polluting Vehicle” is the fuel sticker. It is not. This is just a simple sticker fixed by the company and its only relevance is that your vehicle is valid for pollution under check for one year from the date of registration/ purchase of the vehicle.

Now that the government is determined to go after all vehicles for HSRPs and colour coded fuel stickers, it will lead to a lot of stress and pain among old vehicle owners, especially those whose vehicles will have to be compulsorily scrapped in the next one to six years. Now coming to scrapping of vehicles, how is it that the government is not yet ready with a scrappage policy? Should it not be more proactive here than emphasising on colour coded fuel stickers and HSRPs?