The new Motor Vehicle Act, Amendment will be implemented all over India on 1st September 2019. The new law was recently passed by both the houses of the Indian parliament and was signed by the president of the country making it into a new law. West Bengal has decided to implement the new traffic laws.
The state government of West Bengal, headed by Mamta Banerjee said that new law will not be implemented even though the other states will use the new law to fine the motorists doing illegal work. This was informed to the state Assembly on Tuesday. The Indian Parliament passed the new laws in July 2019. The new law now multiplies the fines to errant motorists. According to the Nitin Gadkari, Highway and Road Minister of India, the new law will ensure that the motorists comply with the laws due to the high amount of the fines. The new laws also make the issuance of a new driving license more stringent. It should be noted that India has one of the most dangerous roads in the world and every year there are a high number of road accidents and many of them also turn fatal.
Suvendu Adhikari, Transport Minister of West Bengal said in a statement,
The new motor vehicles act will not be implemented in Bengal as of now. We are not on the same page over the huge fine that has been suggested will be imposed on drivers. We are still discussing the matter with the Centre. We also have an objection to the clause that a company from which you are buying a vehicle will be entitled to give its fitness certificate,”
The government opposes to the steep hikes mentioned in the new laws. The government said that they in the process of discussing the same with the central government. Until then, the state of West Bengal will continue to work under the current laws. It should be noted that in many penalties were increased by multiple folds under the new law. Additionally, the accident victims will now receive a bigger benefit. Under the new law, the accident victims will now receive Rs 5 lakh for death and Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous injury. It was one of the quickest laws which were passed in the Parliament house of India under the new government.
The new Motor Vehicle also mentions that any government official or law imposer like the police will now have to pay double the amount of the fine than the common citizen. This will ensure that the administration workers like the police officials will now abide by the laws in a better way. It is not known if the state will get a different set of rules, which will be implemented inside the state border.
