The Uttar Pradesh transport department is planning to launch a new service, after the scrapping or disposal of the old vehicle, that will permit the new purchase to keep the number plate of the previous vehicle for a period of one year. The program, which is now in trial with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), seeks to make it easier for motorists, and to increase the state’s digital transport services.
In the current system, registration numbers of vehicles are cancelled after the vehicles completion of legal use after 10 years for diesel cars and 15 years for petrol vehicles. This is no longer proposed by the policy but by the owner who has reserved it to reserve it for one year and then lease it to a newly bought vehicle in time, within a year.
Vehicle owners will have to apply at their Regional Transport Office (RTO) to access the facility. The proposed charges include ₹5,000 for the retention fee and an extra ₹600 for processing, authorities said.
The NIC has already nearly finished testing the new system and after proper approval from the high authorities, it would be implemented throughout Uttar Pradesh.
The move was part of the state’s overall effort for the transport system to be digitised. There are currently 58 transport-related services available online including address change, receipt of a duplicate licence, renewing a licence, vehicle registration changes or renewals, and permit services; 16 of which are processed via an auto-approval mechanism.
Uttar Pradesh is the top state with faceless transport services in comparison to Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, said the Transport Ministry.
Deputy Transport Commissioner (IT) Vijay Kumar Singh added that the new model will allow present car owners to keep their registration numbers the same and switch to a new one once they bought their car just within a 1 year reservation period.