The central government on Tuesday introduced the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill-2016 in the Lok Sabha, despite objections from opposition parties.
The bill is aimed at improving road safety in the country and proposes to increase penalties against traffic violations as a deterrent.
Soon after Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to introduce the bill, the opposition members from Congress and Trinamool Congress objected, claiming the bill had not been circulated to the members.
They demanded that the bill be sent to a parliamentary standing committee for wider consultation. Gadkari, however, told the agitating members that the bill needs to be passed at the earliest as it is related to road accidents.
The bill is very important as several people are losing their lives due to road accidents every day. It has been brought after wide consultations with state transport ministers.Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport Minister
The Speaker told members that the bill is merely being introduced and when discussions are held they can raise their concerns.
After Mahajan’s intervention, Gadkari introduced the bill which was brought in after PM Narendra Modi gave his nod to the bill on 3 August.
Every year, 5 lakh road accidents are reported in the country in which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives. Modi led NDA government has said that it is committed to reducing the accidents and fatalities by 50 percent in five years.
To address the issue of road safety, a draft Road Transport and Safety bill was prepared soon after the NDA government came to power. In the present Motor Vehicle Act, there are 223 Sections out of which the bill aims to amend 68 sections.
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