Affixing of high-security number plates to resume

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 27

The affixing of high-security registration plates (HSRPs) on motor vehicles is set to resume in Punjab.

An arbitration tribunal has directed the State Transport Commissioner (STC) to clear Rs 1.95-crore dues of Agro Implex Pvt Ltd, the company that was hired by the state government six years ago to affix HSRPs. The tribunal has also restored the 2011 agreement, which was terminated by the government in 2015 on the plea that the firm failed to fix snap locks on the HSRPs.

The Transport Department had entered into a 10-year pact with the company —which had formed a consortium with two other firms —to affix the HSRPs on old and new vehicles. When the agreement was terminated by forfeiting the bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore, the HSRPs had been affixed on 13.2 lakh vehicles, while 39.54 lakh were left.

Terming the department’s decision hasty, the tribunal observed that the move affected the implementation of the HSRP scheme. “The department, by its own admission, allowed 64.8 lakh vehicles to ply in the sensitive border state without HSRPs,” the tribunal said.

The department, in its reply, had demanded compensation of Rs 17 crore on account of lapses on the part of the company.

The tribunal has directed the department to allow the company to resume affixing the HSRPs, while stating that the entire cost of the arbitration proceedings would be borne by the department. The tribunal comprises presiding arbitrator Justice Viney Mittal (retd); and arbitrators Justice KC Sood (retd) and Deepak Sandhu.