Kerala government has announced to put a stay on the implementation of the Motor Vehicle amendment act, 2019. In order to provide relief to the state citizens, the Kerala Transport Minister AK Saseendran wrote a letter to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
In the letter, AK Saseendran requested Nitin Gadkari to fix the fines within the affordable limit. The hefty amount of penalties has left commuters in a state of worry. Various states have already rejected to go on board with the decision of executing this act.
As of now, the Kerala state has decided not to collect the fines but use this period as a campaign awareness duration. The state has urged the center to either reduce the fines or allow states to modify the rules accordingly without any hassles.
The letter carried the request for allowing the states to fix the penalties according to the gravity of the offenses. Earlier the provisions of the Act allowed the state to carry on with the modifications. The State also urged the Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to remove the provisions of the act that allowed for the privatization of the sector. The provision of renewing license was also sought to look at.
The state has a considerable size of the NRI population. Earlier the driver license needed a renewal every five years, but after the proposed amendment, the time limit has bee reduced to 1 year. AK Saseendran, as quoted by ANI, said “Taking further tests in case of non-renewal within one year is a hardship as no exemption is given to those who could not renew it in last 1-5 years. Hence as a onetime measure, those who are having a license which expired in the last five years may be permitted to renew without undergoing the test as was applicable till September 1st.”
The state also urged the Union Transport Minister to reduce the fines of those offenses that are not covered under Section 200 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
MOTOR VEHICLE ACT-
Motor Vehicle Amendment Act came into effect from 1 September. The amended rules impose heavy monetary punishment on flouting traffic rules. The Act was passed by Parliament in July. According to the new rules, people will be fined Rs. 10,000 for drunken driving instead of Rs. 2,000. The fine for dangerous driving has been increased from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000. Driving two-wheeler without a helmet will be liable to a fine of Rs. 5000. 24 offenses have been made compoundable under the provisions of the act.