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Questioning the Gujarat government’s lenience towards the amendments of Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the revised fines are not a revenue income scheme but for the welfare of the people. He also went on to raise the seriousness of law and order in Gujarat, reported news agency ANI.
The BJP-ruled Gujarat government on Tuesday, 10 September, announced a drastic cut in the penalties for traffic violations even as the Centre is justifying the steep fine amounts under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
In some cases the reduction in the state is as steep as Rs 1,000 from Rs 10,000.
On 31 July, Parliament passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019. But some states, especially those ruled by non-BJP parties, have opposed its stringent provisions and not implemented them yet.
While the Central law has proposed a fine of Rs 1,000 for pillion rider not wearing helmet, this provision will not be implemented at all in Gujarat, Rupani said.
Further, one can produce driving licence or other documents in digitised form after storing them in 'DigiLocker' app, he said.
The new provisions will come into force in Gujarat from 16 September, the chief minister said.
“The fine amount for different violations proposed under the Central law is the upper limit. Penalty collection is not our objective. We want people to be safe. The Gujarat government will enforce the law strictly wherever it is needed. We will be lenient wherever needed. That is why we will not impose any fine on pillion-riders,” Rupani added.
Talking on phone while driving would attract a fine of Rs 500 for first-time offenders and Rs 1,000 if caught second time, which is almost on par with the penalty under the Central act.
At present, the police collect Rs 1,000 for the same offence in Gujarat.
These fines are less than those under the Central act which provides for fines of Rs 5,000 for the first time and Rs 10,000 for repeat offence.
While the amended Central law proposes a penalty of Rs 5,000 if the driver does not have a driving licence, the state police will recover Rs 2,000 from two-wheeler riders andRs 3,000 from drivers of three- or four-wheelers.
Against a hefty penalty of Rs 5,000 proposed by the Centre for not registering the vehicle, the Gujarat government will recover Rs 1,000 for two-wheelers, Rs 2,000 for three- wheelers, Rs 3,000 for four-wheelers and Rs 5,000 for bigger vehicles.
For not having fitness certificate for commercial vehicles, offenders will have to shell out Rs 500 in the case of three-wheelers and Rs 5,000 for four-wheelers or bigger vehicles.
For breach of pollution norms, the fine in Gujarat will be Rs 1,000 for two-wheelers or Light Motor Vehicles and Rs 3,000 for other types of vehicles. The penalty for this offence under the Central MV Act is Rs 10,000.
(With Inputs from PTI and ANI)
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