The Centre is all set to introduce the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill that proposes hefty penalties for various offences pertaining to the road transport sector in the forthcoming session of the Parliament.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which had been passed by the Lok Sabha, was introduced in the Upper House in April 2017 but was referred to a select panel. After taking into account the panel’s recommendation, the Bill was re-introduced in the Rajya Sabha but the debate on the Bill remained inconclusive.
The Bill has been one of the favoured agenda of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Gadkari has been retained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the RTH Minister in his new Council of Ministers. He said that radical reforms are expected in the transport sector once the Bill gets Parliament nod. “The Cabinet note is ready for the Bill and once it is approved we will try to introduce it in the upcoming session of Parliament,” Gadkari said.
The Bill proposes hefty penalties for various traffic offences, three-year jail term for parents of minors caught driving and causing fatal accidents, and a ten-fold increase in compensation for the families of accident victims, among other things.
The Bill also has proposed to protect the good samaritans from legal harassment who help or reach out to accidental victims besides a law to create funds for extending compensation and medical help to the road accident victims.
The Bill also provides for facilitating delivery of services to the citizens and transporters, and proposes Aadhaar-based verification for grant of online services, including learner’s licence.
Gadkari, who took over the charge once again as RTH Minister, said by March 2020, the route to Kailash Mansarovar via Pithoragarh is also likely to be completed while projects under Char Dham Yatra would be expedited. He said to reduce accidents at 8,000 black spots - accident-prone areas - have been identified and will be rectified.
The Road Minster announced that road building pace is likely to reach 32 km a day soon and that most of the stuck projects have been rolled out. He said a road grid and a water grid on the pattern of power grid were also on the anvil and completion of various projects to decongest Delhi will ensure that the national Capital is free from vehicular pollution in the next two years. He said highway projects worth Rs 50,000 crore are in the pipeline for Delhi alone.