CANACONA: The thought of the provisions of the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 has put most of the riders and drivers in Canacona taluka in a dilemma of sorts.
With most of the riders and drivers coming from economically weaker section of the society, if these provisions are made applicable without lowering the penalty, it will be emptying the full month salary, most feel.
As per the reports in media, the transport minister Mauvin Godinho has made it amply clear that the new Act passed by the parliament in July and made applicable from September 1 would be enforced in Goa shortly.
The provisions include enhanced penalties which will be notified by Goa government within a few days or a week.
And for the new provisions, there are no further amendments in Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 which are required.
Under the new rules Rs 10,000 fine will be imposed for not giving way to emergency vehicles and Rs 10,000 for driving despite disqualification.
The changes were based on the recommendations of transport ministers from 18 States, which were vetted by the Standing Committee of Parliament.
It also includes penalties in the range of Rs 1,000-2,000 for over-speeding. As per the Bill, driving without insurance will be punishable with Rs 2,000 fine, while driving without helmets will attract Rs 1,000 fine and 3-month suspension of licence. Guardian/owner will be deemed to be guilty in case of road offence by juveniles while registration of the vehicle will be cancelled.
Traffic violations would now attract a penalty of Rs 500 in place of Rs 100 earlier, while disobedience of orders of authorities will attract a minimum penalty of Rs 2,000 in place of Rs 500 earlier. Penalty for unauthorised use of vehicles without a licence has been proposed at Rs 5,000 while those driving without a licence will have to shell out the same amount and those found driving despite disqualification would be fined Rs 10,000. Penalty for dangerous driving has been increased to Rs 5,000 from Rs 1,000, while drunken driving will cost a fine of Rs 10,000.
There is a sizeable number of two-wheeler owners from remote areas of Canacona who have bought vehicles not as a luxury but a necessity as the interior villages doesn’t have good public transportation service.
“These people ride their vehicles in neutral gear on even a slight slope, for them Rs 50 is a huge amount, and if penalised for thousand of rupees, it will lead to imbalance in their meagre monthly budget,” feel most of the residents here in the taluka.
Vishant Prabhu, a whistleblower and a social activist from Canacona, lamented that these charges are like a dhaba charging 200 for a tea and arguing that five star hotels are charging that much.
“These rates are fine in developed countries where salaries are huge and overall road infrastructure is best, but in India the pothole ridden and poorly designed roads are to be taken care of first before penalizing the vehicle users,” he stated.
