Dehradun: Following in the steps of Gujarat government, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat-led Uttarakhand government has announced a reduction in the fines under the new Motor Vehicles Act. This comes even as the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019 was made effective from September 1, 2019, prompting traffic police across the country to issue challans to those caught breaking the laws.
As per the reduced fine announced by the Uttarakhand government, the penalty for driving without a licence is changed to Rs 2,500, while it is pegged at Rs 5,000 under the amended MV Act. Further, driving with an expired licence is changed to Rs 5,000, whereas the fine is Rs 10,000 under the new law.
As per the new MV Act, driving a vehicle which causes pollution attracts a fine of Rs 10,000 but in Uttarakhand, vehicles causing noise or air pollution will attract Rs 2,500 fine and second time penalty is Rs 45,000. For not providing a way for emergency vehicles, the penalty is changed to Rs 5,000, while it is set at Rs 10,000 under the amended MV Act.
The penalty for overloading of vehicles is changed to Rs 2,000 for Light Motor Vehicle and Rs 5,000 for Medium passenger vehicle, with Rs 2,000 fine per extra tonne, while the new Motor Vehicle Act attracts Rs 20,000 for overloading, and Rs 2,000 per extra tonne. In Uttarakhand, the penalty for driving without insurance is changed to Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000, while is it changed to Rs 2,000 with no exceptions as per the new law.
Moreover, the penalty for making illegal modifications on vehicles has been set at Rs 50,000 and for overspeeding, it is set at Rs 2,000 in Uttarakhand. Penalty for speaking on a mobile phone while driving is set at Rs 5,000 in the state.
The amended Motor Vehicles Act came in force on September 1, 2019, in a bid to inculcate good driving habits, curb traffic violations and instill the fear of law. However, several state governments decided to either not implement the same or went ahead and reduced the penalties by as much as 90 per cent. Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal are some of the states which have not backed the Centre's move.
In Gujarat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced a reduction in the fines under the new Motor Vehicles Act. As per the reduced fine announced by the Gujarat government, the penalty for not wearing a helmet in the state is Rs 500, while it is Rs 1,000 under the MV Act. The fine for not wearing seat belts in Gujarat has been reduced to Rs 500, while it is Rs 1,000 under the new Motor Vehicles Act. Driving a vehicle without Driving Licence will attract a fine of Rs 2,000 for the two-wheelers and Rs 3,000 for the rest in Gujarat, while in other parts of India the fine is Rs 5,000 under the new rule.
