Following the Delhi Cabinet’s decision to remove coloured beacons, the State Transport Authority (STA) on Monday sent a formal communiqué to the lieutenant-Governor’s (l-G) office for his assent. Officials said that the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker — belonging to the Constitutional rank — have been exempted from the removal of beacons. The official notification on the removal of red and blue beacons from vehicles of Ministers and bureaucrats is expected in a day or two.
“As per the Cabinet’s decision on Saturday, the Transport Department has sent a formal proposal for the removal of coloured beacons from vehicles of all State Ministers and bureaucrats. The official notification will be issued shortly; once approved by the l-G it will be published in the gazette. The posts of Speakers and Deputy Speakers are Constitutional posts, which require red beacons and thus have been exempted from the beacon removal process,” said Puneet K Goel, the outgoing Commissioner of Transport.
Senior officials said that Delhi is the first State across the country, which has complied with the apex court’s recent judgement — to restrict the use of red beacons. The emergency vehicles such as fire tenders and ambulances will continue to have amber beacons to offer their services in moments of crisis.
In a recent judgement, the Supreme Court had asked the Government to limit the use of red beacon vehicles with flashers and reserve the same for high dignitaries only. It had also asked the Government to amend the Motor Vehicles Act to increase the fine amount. The Delhi Traffic Police have prosecuted over 250 vehicles for red beacon violations till December 15 this year.