Face of Nation : After the implementation of new traffic rules, the government has been facing a lot of criticism, a number of states have decided to slash them in their respective jurisdictions on “humanitarian” grounds. Ironically, leading the charge are BJP-ruled states.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which came into effect on September 1, made several far-reaching changes on existing traffic penalty charts. In the days that followed, an autorickshaw driver in Bhubaneswar was fined Rs. 47,500 for violating several traffic rules; a truck owner from Rajasthan had to pay up Rs. 1,41,000 for overloading his vehicle; and a Delhi resident – angered over being fined by a traffic policeman -took the drastic step of setting his motorcycle on fire.
The chief minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani’s government was the first to reduce the fines prescribed under the amended Motor Vehicles Act on Tuesday, bringing it down to as low as 10% of the actual amount for some offences. A similar announcement was made by other BJP-ruled states such as Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka soon afterwards, indicating that they may also consider making drastic changes at their end if the government did not reconsider – or at least scale down – the newly prescribed penalties that they say could become a burden on the people.
While opposition-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi have also hinted at taking similar steps, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has flatly rejected any possibility of the people in her state being forced to cough up such “harsh” penalties.
On Wednesday, in a move likely to embarrass the Union government, Maharashtra’s BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government termed the new penalties prescribed under the amended law as “exorbitant” and stayed its implementation. State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote also urged the centre to “reconsider and reduce” the hefty fines imposed on the people.
For its part, Goa said that it will consider implementing the law only after fulfilling its “moral responsibility” of repairing all potholed roads in its territory. “We will enforce the amended fines from January next year,” said State Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, effectively buying the Pramod Sawant government some much-needed time.
The BJP-ruled Karnataka government has decided to take a page from the Gujarat government’s handbook of traffic regulations. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said, “The papers have reported what Gujarat has done. I will get a copy of that order and see what can be done to prevent penalties from getting too high.”
The new traffic penalties have also sent opposition-ruled states into a huddle. While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi has decided to take a “conscious call” on the issue, the Left government in Kerala and the Congress governments Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are reviewing them with an eye on possible reductions.
