The state governments of Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, both Congress-ruled, are yet to implement the penalties for traffic violations under the new Motor Vehicles Act which came into force from September 1.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said his government will first study the new amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act and then decide. Nath said he does not agree with the enhanced penalties imposed for violations of traffic rules, according to an IANS report.
"Notification has not been issued in MP, so it will not apply here. We will first study the new provisions, which will be deliberated upon. We will also study how our neighbouring states are reacting to this," Kamal Nath said in a tweet.
Stating that the hiked penalty for traffic rule violations would put additional burden on the common man, Congress-ruled Punjab has also refused to implement the stricter Motor Vehicles Act for the time being.
"We will take a call after studying the penalty amount that is abnormally high," state Transport Minister Razia Sultana told reporters in Jalandhar. "We will implement the Act after reviewing the penalties with the Chief Minister," she added.
Punjab Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) S S Chauhan said the amount of fine would be decided soon in a meeting of all stakeholders for the implementation of the amended Act.
"The state has powers to make amendments in the law as it is a state subject," he said, asserting that the idea was to deter people from violating the traffic rules, not to increase the state treasury.
The Ministry of Road Transport last week notified the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 that is applicable from September 1.
The new amendments have increased several penalties by up to 10 times for violations of traffic rules. For example, the penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol has been increased from ₹2000 to ₹10,000. Similarly, a person driving a two-wheeler without a helmet will be liable to a fine of ₹5,000.
