Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan won’t implement ‘impractical’ new MV Act

The Congress-ruled governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan refused to implement the Motor Vehicle Act 2019 in its present form on Sunday, the very first day when enhanced penal provisions under the amended Act kicked in. Both said the fines were “too excessive” and that they would first review the enhanced penalties before implementing the Act.

MP’s law minister P C Sharma and transport minister Govind Singh Rajput said the Act will be implemented after a committee study the amendments. “We do not have any problem if there is a penalty on drunk driving. We are concerned about students, women and other sections,” said Rajput, adding that there are several anomalies in the amended Act and people are complaining about the steep hike in penalties.

भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था पाँच से नहीं, शून्य की दर से बढ़ रही

Rajasthan’s transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the state government fully backed steps to reduce accidents. “However, by increasing fines, there is no guarantee accidents will stop. In fact, the massive jump in penalties would lead to corruption,” he said. Calling the amended Act “impractical”, Khachariyawas said people should not be “terrified of driving because of high penalties”. A meeting has been called on Monday to discuss reduction in the fines. “It is within the state’s right to reduce the penalties,” he said. Rajasthan transport commissioner Rajesh Kumar Yadav told TOI that the provision of the compounding fee can be revised by the state government.

More videos

See All