Traffic police to crack down on use of Marathi no. plates

Concerned over the increasing use of Marathi number plates on vehicles, which is illegal as per the provision of Central Motor Vehicles Act, the Pune traffic department has decided to take action against violators in the city in the next couple of days.

The traffic cops are currently taking action against vehicles which have fancy number plates. As of now, 26, 852 vehicles including two-wheelers and four-wheelers have been fined from January to August and Rs28.5 lakh fine has been collected from the violators.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Vishwas Pandhare said, “We have been witnessing that maximum people are using Marathi number plates on their vehicles. However, as per the provision of rule-50, -D of Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, it is illegal to have number plate in any regional language.”

He said that most of the times, the design of the numerals are such that they resemble some names like ‘NANA, DADA, PAWAR’ and the numbers are not easily identifiable. “It is mandatory to have the number plate in English at the front and back of the vehicle and if the commuter wants, he or she can put Marathi number plates at some other place other than the designated space,” added Pandhare.