Pune RTO plans to drastically increase the number of HSRP installation centres from 125 to 500 by the end of April to meet the demand as citizens are given long waiting periods for appointments to install HSRP.
The state transport department has prescribed April 30 as the last date for the installation of HSRP, but citizens are being given appointments as late as July. Therefore, the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) conducted a meeting on Monday and directed that these centers be increased for the installation to comply with regulations.
“I tried to register and make an appointment on March 16 for the HSRP number plate for my three vehicles, but it was showing July appointment dates. The RTO should increase the registration centres to cater to applicants,” said Kailas Marathe.
Another citizen, Sanjay Jadhav said, “Last week when I had gone to install my vehicle’s HSRP number plate at a centre in Moshi, I had to wait for more than four hours as there was a heavy rush. So, I had to take leave from the office and spend an entire day just to install the number plate.”
There are over 25 lakh vehicles in Pune district that need new number plates. And currently only 125 centers have been authorized by the RTO. There is a demand to increase these centres up to 500 across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
“Today (on Monday), we held a meeting with the authorised vendor who is setting up these centres and instructed us to double the number of centres to provide hassle-free service to citizens. Soon the centres will increase, and we hope that in a phase wise manner the number of centers will reach up to 500 by next month,” said Swapnil Bhosale, Pune RTO deputy regional transport officer.
As directed by the RTO, all vehicles registered on or before April 1, 2019, must have the HSRP affixed by April 30, 2025. The RTO has appointed Rosmerta Company for the implementation of this work in Pune and in 12 other RTOs.