State refuses to implement MV Act from Sept 1, cites arbitrary hike in penalties
Kolkata: The state government is not going to implement the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 with effect from September 1, claiming arbitrary hike in penal measures proposed by the Centre. The state is also against the provisions in the act that exclude Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) from awarding fitness certificates for vehicles.
"We have examined the provisions of the MV Act and there are certain points which we feel need reconsideration on part of the Centre. The fines for various violations have been hiked to such an extent that it will be difficult for a section of people to cough up such exorbitant penalties. Moreover, vehicle manufacturing companies have been given the power of giving fitness certificates. This is unacceptable, as it is natural that a manufacturer will always declare its vehicle as fit. There should be a third party involvement in giving fitness certificates. The third party would give certificates as per the earlier MV Act," said a senior official of the state Transport department on Tuesday.
The official said that the state agrees with the spirit of the MV Amendment Act 2019 and is ready to implement it if certain amendments
are made. "We will soon forward our opinion on the MV Act to the Centre," the official added.
The penalty for drunken driving has been increased five times from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000, overspeeding ten times from Rs 500 to Rs 5000 and not wearing helmets from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 with disqualification of licence for three months, to mention a few.
A handful of states have already decided to implement the MV Act 2019. "The Centre has not made it mandatory for the state to implement the amended Act and has left it upon the states to decide whether to put it into effect or not," the official reiterated.
It should be noted that recently, the Centre had said that 63 clauses of the new MV Act, which includes higher penalties for traffic violation, would be implemented from September 1.
