Transport minister Nitin Gadkari (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said steep penalties under the amended Motor Vehicles Act are not meant to collect fines but to ensure that people do not violate the law. The motor vehicles law has been amended to enhance penalties for violation of traffic rules. The amended law came into force from September 1.

There have been reports from various parts of the country that traffic police have started imposing the steep penalties for traffic violations .

"There is a misconception among people. If they abide by the laws, there will be no fine imposed. The law has not been imposed to collect fines. It has been brought into force so that people take traffic rules seriously and do not violate them," Gadkari said on the sidelines of an event here.

The minister said awareness related to obeying traffic regulations has increased following the implementation of the new law. He further said that once people start obeying the laws, there will be no need to impose fines.

Stressing that road accidents result in 1.5 lakh deaths annually, Gadkari said modified motor vehicles law has been successful on a large scale, and the number of traffic challans will reduce with better awareness.

On reports of some non-BJP-ruled state governments saying they will not implement the amended Motor Vehicles Act, Gadkari said there was nothing of the sort and the subject lies in the concurrent list of the Constitution. He added that the Bill was drafted after extensive discussions with all state governments.

Parliament in July passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to tighten road traffic regulations such as the issuance of driving licence and imposed stricter penalties for violations in an attempt to improve road safety.

Under the amended law, people will be fined Rs 10,000, which was earlier Rs 2,000, for drunk driving and Rs 5,000, earlier Rs 1,000, for dangerous driving.