Goa Public Transport Fed ups ante.Announces strike on HSRPs

In the building resentment against the enforcement of the high security registration plates for all vehicles in Goa, the All Goa public transport federation became the latest body to announce its agitational stance against the implementation of the High security registration plates in Goa and threatened to go on a one day token strike if the government of Goa fails to stop the process of its implementation.

The federation constitutes al transport operators in Goa including bus owners, taxi operators, rickshaw and two wheelers and pilots who are all set to observe the strike on Monday Aug 31 2009.

Interestingly, the strike call given by the transporters body has the backing of the state unit of the youth congress which had earlier protested the state governments move at Margao when they almost laid siege to the RTOs office last week.

It may be recalled that Goa had advocated the use of high security registration plates making the same mandatory to all vehicles as per the directives of the supreme court under the central motor vehicles act and a Mumbai base company  Shimnit Utsch had bagged the contract amidst opposition by the BJP.

The state of Goa has over 6.5 lakh vehicles registered with the road transport organisation (RTO). The representatives of the various transport organisations lamented that their memorandum made to the chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat on August 10 with a deadline of seven days had no response and with the deadline expiry on August 18, they had no choice but to  hold the strike which was held in abeyance due to the ganesh chaturthi celebrations in Goa.

The organisation alleged that the representatives in the assembly have not dwelled well enough on the scheme of HSRP and pointed out that the number plates are of no use in Goa as the state has no infrastructure to ensure that the features in the number plate are complimented by proper implementation like tracking of vehicles and other security related aspects as also the absence of a data bank in Goa.

The leader of the opposition Mr Manohar Parrikar had also alleged that there appeared to be a scam in the implementation of the HSRP scheme while saying that Goans were unnecessarily paying double the price compared top the west Bengal government where the number plates were charged at Rs 282 and 441 while people in Goa have to spe4nd Rs 550 and Rs 1250 for such plates.

Goan roads : Signs of abusive neglect

Visible on a busy Margao road in South Goa was the following sign obviously put up by disgruntled citizens, which is a stinging slap on the people responsible for the upkeep of Goan roads. It clearly proves that there is no co-ordination between the various public utility service departments to ensure that the works carried out by them are completed in all respects with proper accountability without proving a hindrance to the citizens. No wonder there is a grave dissent in the minds of the Goan public about the use of helmets in the name of safety alone, when our system is so full of willful potholes.

 

 

Will this be the last such sign? Will the authorities ever learn? Will our lives be taken for granted? Will our helmets save us from such whimsical behaviour of our public sector?

Goa students need to learn traffic rules in School

The need to impart traffic rule education in Goan schools came to the fore in the assembly when the opposition MLAs maintained that the transport ministry had failed in its promise to make knowledge on traffic regulations as a part of school curriculum and no steps in this direction had so far been taken. However regular challans were being issued to defaulters with no education measures being undertaken by the government to ensure that the alarming rise in the number of road accidents in the state had arrested.

Mr Francis D’Souza, the Deputy opposition leader stressed on the imperative need for the procedure of acquiring a driving license to be made more stringent and lamented that bribes of Rs 500 were enough for anybody to get a licence and urged that unless the people are educated in traffic discipline, the licences should not be issued.

Also Mr D’Souza advised the government that improvement in road engineering aimed at widening accident prone zones would go a long way in reducing accidents considerably in Goa.

Road safety programmes need more teeth to be highlighted effectively to the community in Goa and good highways and one ways were the need of the hour said Mr D’Souza

Goa number plate contract comes under Parrikars lens

The ambitious plans of the government of Goa to issue a contract for high security number plates has come under the scanner following a calling attention motion by the opposition leader Mr Manohar Parrikar who drew the attention of the transport minister expressing the “fear and anxiety” in the minds of the people of Goa about the decision of the government to grant the contract of fixing the high security registration plates to Shimnit Utsch Private limited who the opposition leader claimed, have a dubious background.

As a consequence of the attention drawn by the opposition leader, the Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat and the speaker of the Goa assembly Mr Pratapsingh Rane, urged the transport Minister Mr Ramakrishna Dhavlikar to reconsider the move of allotting the contract to the company.

Mr Manohar Parrikar alleged that the director/promoter of the company Shimnit Utsch has a criminal background. Also he pointed out that the same company was denied the contract vide order dated November 13 2006 by the director of transport due to their ineligibility. Also the BJP stalwart pointed out that the company had quoted exorbitant rates as compared to rates quoted by other companies in other states . Also traditional painters of number plates in Goa numbering around 200 were under risk of losing their traditional business adding to the unemployment scenario in the state. 

Mr Parrikar also questioned the need of only approaching one supplier of such High security registration plates(HSRP) while there were other such suppliers existing in the country and implied that the government of Goa was creating an unnecessary monopoly situation which was against the interest of the consumer.

In reply the transport minister maintained that the director of the company who was convicted in a criminal case had resigned from the company and was further replaced by his son. Also the Minister informed that the company had won the contract after quoting the lowest rates. However the speaker Mr Pratapsingh Rane brushed off the justification about signing the agreement with the company in good faith and suggested that the false information if any by the company had insulted this faith and hence the government could terminate the contract.

Mr Parrikar informed the house that no other state had made HSRP compulsory and that the governments of Rajasthan and Karnataka were already restrained by the high courts with a stay on the subject .

Goa to implement High security registration plates

The long awaited high security registration plates(HSRPs) are finally on their way to reality in Goa very soon, possibly within a fortnight. The enforcement of such plates on vehicles in Goa will make the state the third in the whole country to employ such registration plates which are expected to enhance the tracking of vehicles thereby posing as a deterrent to vehicle related crimes in Goa.

The High security registration had been given the green signal by the Supreme Court which set a deadline of three months for the central and the state governments to implement the high security plates, removing all uncertainty thus setting up August 4th as the deadline for the implementation.The HSRPs were also recommended by a technical committee of experts which reviewed the central Motor Vehicle act 1988.

The HSRPs are empowered with seven security features which help to track down stolen vehicles, prevent their misuse and also trace culprits involved in hit-and-run cases. The move is also expected to help against tax evasion at the time of registration and transfers during resale of the vehicle besides bringing the large unorganised sector of licence plate painters under the organised sector.

The state government of Goa has reportedly awarded the HSRP contract to Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd who are billed as the leading licence plate manufacturers in the country. The HSRPs are plates with inherent security features such as retro-reflective sheeting,embossed numbers, IND inscription, unique laser code and snap lock fitment which therefore make these plates tamper proof and prevent vehicle thefts and misuse. The online data is expected to provide real time support to all kinds of vehicles with the HSRPs.

So how does one migrate to the High security registration plate era? All the existing vehicles are given upto two years time to upgrade to the HSRP implementation of the licence plates. The procedure involves approaching the RTO for an application form and the payment for the HSRPs for two wheelers is Rs 550 while for four wheelers it is 1,200. VAT and other taxes are extra.