New vehicle registration code for Telangana likely next week

Hyderabad: A notification for new vehicle registration code for Telangana state, which will formally come into existence on June 2, is likely to be released next week after new government takes over in New Delhi.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has sent a proposal to the ministry to allot "TG" series for Telangana, which would formally come into being as the country's 29th state following the division of Andhra Pradesh.

"We have received proposals from Andhra Pradesh. Though everything is in place for allocation of a code to Telangana, there are some procedural issues to be followed. The notification may be issued next week," sources close to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told PTI on Thursday.

When contacted, G Anantha Ramu, Transport Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, said that even if the notification from the Ministry comes on June 1, the Telangana Government will be able implement the new code from June 2 only.

According to a senior state government official, vehicle registrations in Telangana region have come down as buyers want to get their vehicles registered only after June 2 to avoid any future complications.

Any decision with regard to changing the registration number (for old vehicles) has to be taken by new government that will take over after June 2 in Telangana.

If it is decided to change the registration numbers for old vehicle also, then all the vehicles that are plying in Telangana with "AP" series will have to get a new registration number, the official said.

"New vehicles will get new State code from June 2. For migration to new series, the old vehicle owners need not pay any road tax again. There will be some nominal fee and they will be given sufficient time to migrate to the new series," the official said.

As per the existing norms and practices, vehicle owners will have to continue with the existing series and can change it when they renew their registration after 15 years from the date of initial registration.

There is a centralised database system in Hyderabad containing all the details of vehicles that were registered in Andhra Pradesh. There is a software that allots vehicle number depending on the district where the vehicle is registered.

The existing server was divided into two portions to keep the data of both the States for some time.

"However, if there is a problem with server anytime in future, then entire system in both the states would be affected. So it is necessary to keep the database in two different servers," the official said.

There are about 70 lakh vehicles plying in Telangana with "AP" series, the official added.