india

Updated: Oct 01, 2019 13:22 IST

If you are one of the many who have had to pay a hefty fine for a traffic violation, you are in fine company. Speaking to Hindustan Times on our interview show On the Record, Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari said that even he had to pay a fine for speeding. “I was in Delhi but my car was on the Worli-Bandra sealink. I think the car was speeding and so the cameras caught it. We had to pay,’’ he said. While the minister didn’t reveal the amount that he had to pay, the fine for a Light Motor Vehicle is between 1,000 and 2000 rupees.

“Even a minister in Maharashtra had to pay the fine,’’ said Gadkari while speaking to HT on the completion of a month of the Motor Vehicles Act being put into effect. However, the minister put the record straight that the objective of the heavy fines was “not to generate revenue’’ but to bring down the high accident rates. “I had to spend a long time in hospital in 2004, we have lost so many people in road accidents too, so this is about that. It’s not a political issue.”

When asked about it being a success or failure, Gadkari said, “100% it is a success. Majority of chief ministers are also with me.”