Kolkata: The Centre has written to the state government regarding the changes that have been proposed in the Central Motor Vehicles Act, to save the drivers from harassment.
If the Act is passed in the Lok Sabha, drivers will be allowed to have details of their driving licence, insurance papers, pollution certificate and smart card in their phones, which they can show to the police if asked for.
Thousands of drivers throughout the country have lodged complaints about police harassment over the production of documents in case of any traffic violation.
In case of any offence, police personnel ask drivers to show their driving licence along with smart card, insurance papers and pollution certificate. Often, the traffic personnel on duty seize the driving licence, which the driver has to obtain from the traffic guard later at a stipulated date, on the production of a receipt.
The trouble begins if the driver is caught for a second offence before the stipulated date. Also, it is never disclosed on what ground the driving licence has been seized.
The drivers also face harassment over the failure to produce insurance papers and smart cards. The drivers of commercial vehicles have complained that police personnel on duty often ask them to pay graft money, which goes up to one thousand rupees when they fail to produce documents. For quite some time, MPs have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha. Once the Act is passed in the Parliament, the harassment of the drivers will stop. Both drivers of private cars and drivers of commercial vehicles have welcomed the Centre's move.
When contacted, Rajiv Sahani, a driver who drives interstate commercial vehicles, said if the driving licence is seized, it becomes difficult to drive on the highways and the so drivers become ready to pay any amount to ensure that the police personnel do not seize the driving licence.
Dr Subrata Ghosh, who drives in the city regularly, said the police personnel often stop random vehicles and ask the owners to show the documents. If all the documents are not in possession of the owner, the driving licence is seized and "it becomes a real problem to get it from the office of the traffic guard."