BHUBANESWAR: With the hefty penalty under the amended MV Act leaving vehicle owners panicked, the State Police made a climb-down on Friday and asked all SPs not to compound more than one violation at one go under the new provisions of the Act. In a circular, DGP Bijay Kumar Sharma instructed to all SPs and Twin City DCPs not to slap a fine of over Rs 5,000 per violator during single enforcement. “The objective of conducting checking is to create awareness among citizens about the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act and not harass them under the garb of the new provisions,” the DGP said.
The violators will now be fined up to only Rs 5,000 on a single day. The aim is to improve road safety and reduce the number of accidents across the State, Sharma said. The decision to relax the enforcement appears to have come after a flurry of complaints over heavy penalties being imposed for multiple violations. The provisions of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 include heavy monetary penalties for not abiding by the traffic rules.
Though the enforcement was welcomed in general because it left a quick impact on negligent vehicle owners and drivers, the hefty fines did not. While police appeared considerate in its enforcement, the RTOs stuck to the task.
In fact, the Rs 47,500 fine slapped on an auto-rickshaw driver who expressed his inability to pay for eight traffic regulations grabbed the headlines but led to a clear divide between the police and Transport department. Inadequate pollution testing agencies prompted the Transport department to relax the norms for a month on Friday.