Knives are out

Jolted by Munde’s death, a visibly shaken Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had then promised to come down heavily on traffic violators

It was the height of summer in India’s capital city New Delhi, though the mornings were better than  the afternoons when temperatures have often crossed 40-degrees in the month of June. Weather-wise June is a dreaded month: the worst for Delhiites  when it comes to battling the heat. Three days into it some five years ago, tragedy struck: one that shocked the nation, shook the BJP and devastated a family: June 3, 2014: a day that will not be easily forgotten.

Union Minister Gopinath Munde was preparing to fly back home. Flights have an uncertainty that drives do not: the latter supposedly safer than the former. A week after taking oath for the first time as Union Minister in the Narendra Modi led government, Munde was going back home to his family and his state in Maharashtra. He was taking an early morning flight. Two others, his driver and secretary, were with him in the car. Munde was sitting in the back seat. The clock ticked 6 am.

Suddenly the unexpected happened. His car, a Maruti Suzuki SX4, was hit by another vehicle at a roundabout, a kilometres away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence. The other car, an Indica, had reportedly jumped the traffic light and collided with Munde's car coming from the other side. The Indica hit Munde's car  on the side  he was sitting.

By the time Munde reached the hospital, he was dead.  Munde it is said died of shock and cardiac arrest that he suffered during the accident. Both the driver and the secretary were unhurt.

Gopinath Munde entered the Union cabinet for the first time after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. A five-time MLA, Munde was tipped to be BJP's CM candidate for Maharashtra with assembly elections scheduled to be held later in the year.

 As is typical with deaths of well-known people conspiracy theories did the rounds including one that Munde was bumped off by his own men. Syed Shuja, the US-based self-proclaimed cyber expert had then alleged that  Munde was murdered as he was aware of EVM hacking by the BJP in the 2014 elections. Munde’s nephew, an MLA, demanded a probe into his uncle’s murder.

 Jolted by Munde’s death, a visibly shaken Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had then promised to come down heavily on violators saying  harsher punishments for violations were in the offing.

Gadkari had then said that  he wants to rewrite the Motor Vehicle Bill and "focus on those black spots where more than 10 accidents have happened in the past”. The Motor Vehicles Act, he had then said, would be amended and made more stringent.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has kept his word. He has demonstrated that he is a doer and that he means business. But for traffic violators it is like hell breaking loose.

Come September, things have changed for motorists driving on Indian roads with the new Motor Vehicles Act 2019 taking effect.

Based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers of States, The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has introduced heavy fines for drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, etc.

Under the Act, penalties for several offences have multiplied.  For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.

The minimum Compensation for road accident victimsfor hit and run cases has substantially increased: in case of death, from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees in case of death and from Rs 12,500 to

Rs 50,000 in case of grievous

injury.

An important component is the weaving in of a  good Samaritan defined as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident. Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim.

Those who do not give way to an ambulance or fire brigade may soon have to face a hefty fine of as much as  ₹10,000 or/and imprisonment up to six months.

In a first, the Centre will develop a system for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the golden hour -- time period lasting one hour after a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing medical care.

Obtaining a driving licence too  will get tougher. A driving test will become technology driven, reducing human interface to curb corruption. Currently, licence testing is manual and untrained people also get licence.

There is a provision for compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India.

This would be utilised for treatment of persons injured in road accidents, compensation to representatives of a person who died in a hit and run accident among others.

The central government is also empowered to  recall motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the recalled vehicle will be required to either reimburse the buyers for the full cost of the vehicle, or  replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle with similar or better specifications.

The new law replaces the 30-year old law and aims to overhaul the country’s transportation laws by addressing crucial issues such as road safety, reducing deaths due to road accidents, imposing stiffer penalties on violation of rules, and weeding out corruption, thereby transforming India’s road transport system.

The challenge however is in the fact about the cooperation of states in implementing the Act, given that state governments are free to make their own laws and rules. Several states have decided to either slash penalties or not implement any.

For instance, Gujarat has already announced a reduction in the fines; Odisha  has issued a direction to not go aggressively on an overdrive but counsel and handhold the public to facilitate compliance ;the Punjab government has put on hold the implementation of the Act; while the state of Telangana is still to take a call on the new law. In Rajasthan, the Congress government  is seeking to do away with the heavy fines imposed while in Madhya Pradesh another Congress-ruled state, the implementation is on hold.

In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress-ruled state has out rightly refused to implement the Act. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the Centre for steep hike in penalties for traffic rules violations, saying TMC MPs had opposed the Bill when it was placed in Parliament.

This is the tragedy: state governments playing politics and not coming down heavily on offenders: a classic case of us versus them: read states versus the Centre.

Sadly, the knives are out and guns unlikely to fall silent. But the unfortunate part is that the political battle will take a heavy toll on human lives and  give a handle to offenders to break the law and worse still get away with it. Unless stringent and strict punishments take effect,  people will die on Indian roads by the hour.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

 

Knives are out

Jolted by Mundes death, a visibly shaken Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had then promised to come down heavily on traffic violators

It was the height of summer in Indias capital city New Delhi, though the mornings were better than the afternoons when temperatures have often crossed 40-degrees in the month of June. Weather-wise June is a dreaded month: the worst for Delhiites when it comes to battling the heat. Three days into it some five years ago, tragedy struck: one that shocked the nation, shook the BJP and devastated a family: June 3, 2014: a day that will not be easily forgotten. Union Minister Gopinath Munde was preparing to fly back home. Flights have an uncertainty that drives do not: the latter supposedly safer than the former. A week after taking oath for the first time as Union Minister in the Narendra Modi led government, Munde was going back home to his family and his state in Maharashtra. He was taking an early morning flight. Two others, his driver and secretary, were with him in the car. Munde was sitting in the back seat. The clock ticked 6 am. Suddenly the unexpected happened. His car, a Maruti Suzuki SX4, was hit by another vehicle at a roundabout, a kilometres away from Prime Minister Narendra Modis official residence. The other car, an Indica, had reportedly jumped the traffic light and collided with Mundes car coming from the other side. The Indica hit Mundes car on the side he was sitting. By the time Munde reached the hospital, he was dead. Munde it is said died of shock and cardiac arrest that he suffered during the accident. Both the driver and the secretary were unhurt. Gopinath Munde entered the Union cabinet for the first time after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. A five-time MLA, Munde was tipped to be BJPs CM candidate for Maharashtra with assembly elections scheduled to be held later in the year. As is typical with deaths of well-known people conspiracy theories did the rounds including one that Munde was bumped off by his own men. Syed Shuja, the US-based self-proclaimed cyber expert had then alleged that Munde was murdered as he was aware of EVM hacking by the BJP in the 2014 elections. Mundes nephew, an MLA, demanded a probe into his uncles murder. Jolted by Mundes death, a visibly shaken Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had then promised to come down heavily on violators saying harsher punishments for violations were in the offing. Gadkari had then said that he wants to rewrite the Motor Vehicle Bill and focus on those black spots where more than 10 accidents have happened in the past. The Motor Vehicles Act, he had then said, would be amended and made more stringent. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has kept his word. He has demonstrated that he is a doer and that he means business. But for traffic violators it is like hell breaking loose. Come September, things have changed for motorists driving on Indian roads with the new Motor Vehicles Act 2019 taking effect. Based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers of States, The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has introduced heavy fines for drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, etc. Under the Act, penalties for several offences have multiplied. For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. The minimum Compensation for road accident victimsfor hit and run cases has substantially increased: in case of death, from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees in case of death and from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000 in case of grievous injury. An important component is the weaving in of a good Samaritan defined as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident. Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim. Those who do not give way to an ambulance or fire brigade may soon have to face a hefty fine of as much as ₹10,000 or/and imprisonment up to six months. In a first, the Centre will develop a system for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the golden hour -- time period lasting one hour after a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing medical care. Obtaining a driving licence too will get tougher. A driving test will become technology driven, reducing human interface to curb corruption. Currently, licence testing is manual and untrained people also get licence. There is a provision for compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India. This would be utilised for treatment of persons injured in road accidents, compensation to representatives of a person who died in a hit and run accident among others. The central government is also empowered to recall motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the recalled vehicle will be required to either reimburse the buyers for the full cost of the vehicle, or replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle with similar or better specifications. The new law replaces the 30-year old law and aims to overhaul the countrys transportation laws by addressing crucial issues such as road safety, reducing deaths due to road accidents, imposing stiffer penalties on violation of rules, and weeding out corruption, thereby transforming Indias road transport system. The challenge however is in the fact about the cooperation of states in implementing the Act, given that state governments are free to make their own laws and rules. Several states have decided to either slash penalties or not implement any. For instance, Gujarat has already announced a reduction in the fines; Odisha has issued a direction to not go aggressively on an overdrive but counsel and handhold the public to facilitate compliance ;the Punjab government has put on hold the implementation of the Act; while the state of Telangana is still to take a call on the new law. In Rajasthan, the Congress government is seeking to do away with the heavy fines imposed while in Madhya Pradesh another Congress-ruled state, the implementation is on hold. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress-ruled state has out rightly refused to implement the Act. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the Centre for steep hike in penalties for traffic rules violations, saying TMC MPs had opposed the Bill when it was placed in Parliament. This is the tragedy: state governments playing politics and not coming down heavily on offenders: a classic case of us versus them: read states versus the Centre. Sadly, the knives are out and guns unlikely to fall silent. But the unfortunate part is that the political battle will take a heavy toll on human lives and give a handle to offenders to break the law and worse still get away with it. Unless stringent and strict punishments take effect, people will die on Indian roads by the hour. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])