Shift from TS to TG series number plates: Telangana vehicles might go Uttarakhand way

Hyderabad: In a fresh move, the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in Telangana has decided to revise the alphanumeric code for motor vehicle registration in Telangana from TS to TG. Once the official order comes into effect, new vehicles coming onto the roads in Telangana will be sporting registered number plates beginning with the TG series.

Telangana residents own AP, TS series vehicles

Currently, residents in 33 districts of Telangana own vehicles that have either AP series number plates (vehicles that were brought before June 2014) or TS series (vehicles bought in the new Telangana State). There is also a significant number of motorists owning vehicles having both TS and AP series and using them for regular commuting.

Now with the fresh decision, there will be a scenario where residents of Telangana will be plying on roads with vehicles sporting three registration codes: TG in addition to TS and AP.

Fate of vehicles with TS code and Uttarakhand model

According to experts and senior officials in the State Transport Department, Telangana might have to go the Uttarakhand way.

It may be recalled that three new states were created in India in 2000, one of them was Uttaranchal with Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand being the other two. However, the State Government following due procedures revised the name to Uttarakhand in 2007.

For seven years (from 2000 to 2007) motor vehicles in the state sported ‘UA’ alphanumeric code referring to the name ‘Uttaranchal’. Once the state name was modified to Uttarakhand, the vehicle registration code was accordingly revised to ‘UK’ and since then has been the code for all new vehicles registered with the transport department in that state.

Elaborating details over the phone, Sunil Sharma, RTO (Admin), Dehradun, Uttarakhand Transport Department, informed that they adopted new technology and seamlessly implemented the new ‘UK’ registration series at that time. He, however, stated that motor vehicles registered with the earlier series ‘UA’ remained untouched even after the new code came into effect.

Currently, three registration codes are found on vehicles used by Uttarakhand residents: UP (as the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh), UA and the present UK, he said.

Challenges in changing numbers

While the vehicles having AP registration series can continue to be used as it is, the fate of the existing vehicles with TS registration codes will be known in the coming days.

If the government decides no vehicles should ply on the road with the TS series, the motorists have to change their number plates to the new TG code.

Although it appears just a single letter modification (from S to G), it’s not that easy. Vehicle owners have to get new number plates affixed altogether scrapping the existing ones as these are HSRPs (High Security Registration Number Plates) with a built-in chip facility and a single letter can’t be altered in the plate.

If you consider the Telangana scenario, on average 7 to 8 lakh new vehicles get registered in Telangana every year. If we consider the period from 2014 to 2024, approx. 75 lakh vehicles might be plying on Telangana roads carrying the TS registration series.

Sunil Sharma stated that revising old vehicle data (TS to TG) might not be considered citing his Uttarakhand experience. It is impossible to modify the vehicles with the TS series even after the new TG code comes into effect, the senior official felt. The same sentiments were echoed by the Transport department officials here. Disposing of the present ones and replacing them with 75 lakh new HSRP is a mountainous task and hence the option might not be explored, officials felt.

Possibly Telangana residents will be using vehicles with three registration series - AP, TS and TG, much like the Uttarakhand scenario.

Happy to Help: Uttarakhand

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Transport Department has come forward to extend any possible assistance to their counterparts for a smooth transition of the vehicle registration code.

“We would be happy to invite and share our experience and knowledge with the Telangana transport department so that they seamlessly implement the new vehicle registration series in their state,” the officials said.