Amid demands for a CBI probe into the death of former Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde following a road accident, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will decide the course of action in the matter. At the same time, Gadkari maintained the Motor Vehicle Bill will be re-drafted within a month in line with advanced international practices to enhance road safety.
“On Wednesday, I spoke to the Prime Minister and Munde’s family. It is the Prime Minister who will decide the proper course of action on the matter and truth will prevail,” Gadkari told reporters here.Gadkari said if there is any doubt in the minds of people it should be cleared. Various political leaders including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray have backed the demands for a CBI probe to ascertain the reasons behind his death amid speculations about a sabotage doing the rounds.
He said the new Bill is likely to include measures such as installing CCTV cameras at all traffic signals, redesigning of heavy vehicles and centralising data to check misuse of driving licences. “In a month’s time, we will re-draft the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill in sync with six advanced nations — USA, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany and the UK, and thereafter will introduce it in Parliament,” Gadkari said.
“The UK has already consented to cooperate in this area and I will be meeting the UK High Commissioner in a day or two in this regard,” he said. Stressing upon the need to overhaul the entire traffic network through advanced IT systems, Gadkari said that the previous Bill was mainly focused on “man-made implementation” which “I think is not practical” in present times.
The draft-Bill will be placed before the National Road Safety Council in a month where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be invited, he said, adding that stakeholders’ suggestions would be incorporated in the Bill.
The existing Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which had been introduced and passed in the Rajya Sabha in May 2012, proposes hefty penalty for traffic rule violations and drunken driving. Minister said the black spots for accidents would be identified across the nation in coordination with State Governments and other stakeholders. “People don’t respect law here. Henceforth, with the new Act, advanced CCTV cameras would be installed at all traffic signals and anyone violating the law will be issued challan in the next 24-hours.”
The Minister said all manufacturers of heavy vehicles like trucks will be asked to make certain changes in the design of the vehicles to incorporate safety requirements. Gadkari said data for driving licenses will be centralised to check misuse as often one person is found in possession of several licences.
Necessary amendments in two more Acts governing transport sector - Carriage by Roads Act and Road Transport Corporation Act - will be made, he said. In six months time, public transport vehicles plying in all the cities with over 10-lakh population will be fitted with advanced GPS tracking system in view of safety of women.
The Bill seeks to raise compensation for death resulting from a hit and run accident to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 for the injured in such incidents. Framed in 1988, several provisions of the bill - especially those related to penalties for violations - have not been found to be effective in checking road accidents. The last time the MV Act was amended was in 2001.