Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Transport Department has issued a stern warning to the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) to install High-Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) on all its buses without delay. The department has made it clear that non-compliance will now invite challans, even for government-owned buses.
Following an inspection drive in Tutu, a suburb of Shimla, RTO stopped several HRTC buses and questioned drivers for running vehicles without the mandated number plates. Regional Managers (RMs) of the corporation have been directed to ensure urgent compliance across their respective zones.
Sources say that while the law has always required high-security plates, the HRTC continued to operate its fleet of over 2,500 buses without them, citing operational delays. So far, these vehicles had largely escaped penalty due to their government status. However, the situation has changed after the implementation of the e-detection system, which automatically checks vehicle documents through cameras at toll plazas and highways.
The Transport Department has now made it clear that no exemption will be granted. HRTC management has responded by deploying an officer to oversee the plate installation process. A company has been engaged to carry out the task in a phased manner, and the corporation has assured that the process will be completed within a few days.
Officials noted that operating without HSRPs is a violation of Section 192 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and will now be strictly penalised. The e-detection system was specifically designed to identify such lapses, and it is actively flagging vehicles not complying with registration norms.
