New Motor Vehicles Act cut 38 lakh challans, garnered fines worth Rs 577 Cr: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha that over 38 lakh challans have been issued since the implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Act and fines of Rs 577 crore have been realised. In a written reply on Thursday, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said that the information is based on the database of NIC (VAHAN, SARATHI) and the data pertains to 15 States and three Union Territories. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which provides for heavy penalties for traffic rule violations, came into force from September 1. However, some states reduced the penalties after reports of hefty fines by the police for breaking traffic rules hit the headlines.

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In absolute terms, 38,39,406 challans have been issued and Rs 5,77,51,79,895 collected after the implementation of certain provisions of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Gadkari also said challans are being referred to courts. "Actual revenue is not available," he said.

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Fatalities fall

The data released by the government pertains to Assam, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Punjab, Goa,  Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Pondicherry, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana. Fatalities due to road accidents have fortunately come down during September-October compared to the same period last year. Of the data available for nine states, only Chhattisgarh saw a rise in fatalities while UT Puducherry saw the highest reduction in fatalities at -30.7%. Fatalities also fell in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh.

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Gadkari's reform-oriented pitch

Earlier, speaking about the objectives of implementing the amended Act, Nitin Gadkari said, "The Act is intended to bring reforms in the area of road safety, bring citizen facilitation, transparency, and reduce corruption with the help of information technology and removing intermediaries." He added that the Act will strengthen public transport, safeguard and protect good samaritan and bring in reforms in the insurance and compensation regime. The first week of the law's implementation invited an outcry after many people across India were fined tens of thousands for traffic rule violations.

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(With ANI inputs)