Traffic fines: Find the sweet spot between penalty and self-goal

Gadkari can follow up on the bold move with pragmatic persuasion

GN Bureau | September 12, 2019


#Nitin Gadkari   #Motor Vehicle Amendment Act   #Law   #roads   #traffic   #states   #Gujarat  
Photo Courtesy: nitingadkari.org
Photo Courtesy: nitingadkari.org

When close to five lakh people are killed in road accidents every year in India, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari should have been complimented on his not-so-populist move to impose higher fines for traffic violations. Instead, many people are unhappy and several states – mostly ruled by the BJP itself – are cutting down the fines in no time.

Last month, Gadkari increased the fines for various traffic rule violations by up to ten times. The matter falls in the concurrent list, and the state has an equal say. Gadkari, in an interview with NDTV on Wednesday, seemed to be washing his hands of the controversy, saying, “Jisko karna hai kare, na karna na kare (the states who want to enforce it, can do it. Those who don't want to, need not.” He was adamant on the need for stricter penalties: “To those states who are refusing to enforce the fines, isn't life more important than money? This was done to save lives… People need to have a fear of law.”

His remarks came after Gujarat, the prime minister’s home state and the ruling party’s model state, stepped back in the face of people’s complaints and reduced the new traffic fines by up to 90 percent. While several other states like the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand have also rolled back the move, and several opposition-ruled states like West Bengal have outright refused to implement it, Delhi, governed by the AAP, has not only imposed the new fines but maintained that it won’t review the decision.

The steep hike in the fines came after both houses of parliament in August passed the amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, steered by Gadkari’s ministry. However, a popular consensus on the move has been missing. Instead of the ‘nudge’ – seen in several reform measures of the government – this move seemed an imposition from above without consultation.

While the intentions behind the move are beyond criticism, it is now up to the government and the states to create a dialogue with people and resist short-cut solutions. At the same time, in cases where the fines are prohibitively high, the centre should take lead in pragmatically review it and bring it down to an optimum level.
 

Comments

 

Other News

On World Youth Skills Day, let’s ask: What will it take to retain Gen Z?

On World Youth Skills Day, observed every year on July 15, we’re reminded that the future of any economy depends on how well it invests in its youth. In India, where over half the population is under 30, the question of youth skills is not just about employment, it’s about meaning, wellbeing, a

Modi’s Ghana, Namibia visit a transformative chapter in India-Africa ties

Prime minister Narendra Modi last week completed a visit to five countries of Global South: Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. The objective was to reignite old existing partnerships and to project India’s leadership and influence in the Global South community. 

MoEFCC and CAQM launch ‘The Breath of Change’

To tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR through public participation and creative engagement, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) have jointly launched a strategic communication campaign titled The Breath of Change.

India well on way to becoming a global IP powerhouse

Intellectual Property (IP) has evolved into a critical component of innovation and global competitiveness in India’s economy. As businesses pivot toward intangible assets like data, algorithms and branding, IP protection is no longer a matter of formality—it is a strategic imperative. The last

War and Peace: The conundrum of conflict in West Asia

Israel and Palestine have been the harbinger of troubles for the last 80-odd years. It is an unending and persistent saga of conflict and attrition which has bloodied the political, societal and economic turf in West Asia for long. The scale of wars, which were more than skirmishes of the day, ranged from

Trump’s tariff ploy sparks resistance from Global South

In the history of BRICS, never has any joint statement issued after a leader-level summit contained any remarks—directly or indirectly, against the US. However, for the first time, during the 17th summit of BRICS in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, leaders voiced their concern about America’s impositi

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter