Pune’s vehicle registration identity is set for a change after more than 37 years as the Regional Transport Office (RTO) is set to replace the iconic MH-12 series with MH-61 after the alphanumeric registration combinations got exhausted.
The Pune RTO has the highest number of registered vehicles among all the RTOs in Maharashtra, and Pune is the first city in the state where the registration numbers under the existing alphanumeric format have been exhausted, officials said.
A senior Pune RTO official said all 9,999 numbers in the last ZZ series under the MH-12 registration code got exhausted earlier this week, and they are now in the process of starting vehicle registrations under the new code.
As per the procedure, applications have already been invited from vehicle owners for fancy numbers, which are issued at extra charge. Once this process is completed, registrations under the new code will begin, he said.
“Registration of new vehicles under the MH-61 code will start from Monday. Currently, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is carrying out some backend testing,” an official from the Transport Commissioner’s office said.
Currently, the Pune RTO, which has jurisdiction over Pune city and parts of Pune district, has more than 44.88 lakh live registered vehicles.
Neighbouring industrial townships of Pimpri-Chinchwad and some other parts of Pune district fall under the jurisdiction of a separate RTO.
“Most of the vehicles currently shown as live at the Pune RTO were registered after 2011. The majority of vehicles registered before that year may have been scrapped or transferred elsewhere,” another RTO official said.
Vehicles registered at Pune have carried the MH-12 code since July 1, 1989, when the Union government adopted the new format for vehicle registration numbers across the country, a retired RTO official said.
According to RTO officials, more than 59 lakh registration numbers can generally be generated using alphanumeric combinations, excluding the letters I and O.
Talking to PTI, Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar said three alternatives had been suggested as the existing alphanumeric combinations for Pune were nearing exhaustion.
“These options included registration numbers in the formats MH-12 1A and MH-12 A1, apart from introducing the new MH-61 code,” he said.
Another senior officer at the Transport Commissioner’s office said the MH-12 AAA format had also been proposed earlier. However, it would have increased the registration number format to 11 characters, requiring amendments to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) and major changes to the NIC’s system architecture.
Even after multiple meetings, the proposal did not receive approval from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NIC, he said.
Narvekar said MH-61 would be a temporary arrangement and would remain in place until a new alphanumeric format retaining the MH-12 identity of Pune city receives approval from the Union government.
He said immediate implementation of the proposed MH-12 1A format would require an amendment to the CMVR, a process that could take time.
As per the format prescribed in 1989, the vehicle registration number format comprises two alphabets identifying the state, followed by two digits identifying the RTO, up to two alphabets and, finally, a unique identification number for the vehicle. Now, the proposal is to change the format to one digit and one alphabet instead of two alphabets, for which an amendment to the CMVR is required, he said.
“At least 45 days will be required for issuing the notification and then inviting suggestions and objections,” Narvekar said.
Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol had approached Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari seeking continuation of the MH-12 code for Pune. Gadkari had responded affirmatively.
