Taxi and auto unions in the city on Wednesday decided to go on one-day strike in the national Capital on April 30 in protest against the ‘Road Transport and Safety Bill-2014’. Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, which are part of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said that they are against the Bill. “In the Road Transport and Safety Bill-2014, hefty fines have been proposed for minor traffic violation. Even for a jumping red light, hefty fines would be imposed on motorists, which is not fair. “We will not tolerate this Bill at any cost. We will not let them pass it in the Parliament,” Rajender Soni, general secretary of both unions, said.
He said that Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union have decided to go on one-day strike on April 30 against the Bill. “If our demand is not met, we would launch a series of protests against the Government,” he added. As per the final version available on the Ministry’s website, while the older versions had provisions for fine from minimum Rs5,000 to maximum Rs12,500 for repeat offences for overspeeding, now it has been brought down to Rs1,000 to Rs6,000. In the case of drunk driving, the fine has been brought down from Rs30,000 to Rs10,000, which can be increased to Rs20,000 in case of repeat offence.
It may be noted that the Ministry has watered down the penalty which it had proposed in the original draft of the Bill. While the original draft had proposed to dramatically step up punishments for rash driving, including the provision of seven years of jail if negligent driving resulted in the death of a child, the final version has brought it down to at least one year. Even the fine has been brought down from Rs3 lakh to only Rs50,000.