SOON, HIGHTECH NUMBER PLATES TO STOP VEHICLE THEFT IN MAHA

Vehicles in Maharashtra may soon get number plates that cannot be tampered with, a move that will help curb thefts.

The government has set up a 10-member committee, led by the additional chief secretary (plan ning), to issue tenders for firms that would make these plates.

Made of aluminium, the plates will have a reflective film with the verification inscription ‘India’, a chromium-based Ashok Chakra hologram, the letters IND in blue hot-stamped on the plate and a seven-digit unique serial num ber. They will also have a snap lock that will make it almost impossible to be removed or tampered with.

The Supreme Court had made these plates mandatory for al vehicles in the country. While some states implemented it Maharashtra didn’t. The reason the tendering process for the plates was put hold in 2015, after the Centre proposed a new road transport and safety bill. The state wanted to look at the new registration process that was to be introduced in the bill, before making the plates mandatory With the new bill now scrapped the state has decided to imple ment the SC’S directions.

Sources in the transport department said the committee which will look into financial and technical bids for the number plates, will have additional chief secretaries or principal secretar ies of finance, law and judiciary transport, IT and public works department, along with the trans port commissioner, joint com missioner of Mumbai Police (traf fic) and a representative of the Pune-based Automobile Research Association of India The deputy transport commis sioner (computers) will be mem