People protest the new traffic rules in Varanasi on September 13. ANI photo

NEW DELHI: The amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, which came into effect on September 1, has generated immense heat because of the enhanced penalties for violation of road traffic rules. Several schools in the national capital were closed on Thursday as transporters called for a strike. About half of the states in India have already opposed the enhanced penalties.

Of the total 28 states in India, 12 - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana and Punjab - have either rejected implementation of the new MV Act or have watered down the penalties.

Out of these 12 states, four (one-third) have a BJP government, which is the ruling party at the Centre, four are governed by the Congress and the remaining four are helmed by other political parties.

Of the four BJP-ruled states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand - Maharashtra and Jharkhand will face assembly elections later this year, and hence some might argue the watering down of penalties might be to woo voters. However, Gujarat and Uttarakhand have also not enforced the new MV Act despite the two states not going to polls until early 2022.

Out of the remaining eight states, four - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Punjab - are governed by the Congress, while Odisha is headed by BJD, Kerala by the CPM, West Bengal by TMC and Telangana by TRS.

This shows the new MV Act is not popular among states cutting across political lines. And while Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has defended the new traffic rules , the government could have chosen alternate ways to make drivers realise the importance of adhering to traffic safety rules.

Behavioural change

The Modi government could have emulated the Swachh Bharat Mission and campaign against the use of single-use plastic (SUP). Modi spoke about ‘clean India’ campaign while hoisting the national flag for the first time as Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day in 2014. He launched Swachh Bharat campaign on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti , the same year. The campaign has yielded positive results by bringing about behavioural changes and without levying any fine or enhancing penalties.

On Independence Day this year, PM Modi announced the launch of a campaign to discard SUP. The campaign will be launched on October 2, on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi . Modi has urged the people to say no to SUP by using cloth or jute bag while shopping -- an initiative that has received positive response from the public.

Similarly, the Modi government should have sought to bring about behavioural change regarding traffic rules instead of going for enhanced fines and penalties.

Police presence

Ever since the new traffic rules have been implemented, the presence of traffic police on the roads has increased. If more traffic police personnel had been visible earlier, the government may not have needed to enhance the penalties.

Infrastructure

The government has gone ahead with increasing the penalties for traffic violations without ensuring necessary infrastructure is in place.

For instance, many parts of the country not have the required equipment and CCTV cameras to check over-speeding and dangerous driving. There are many other such violations which are hard to pinpoint based on visual proof.

On the other hand, the government has been building infrastructure for the Swachh Bharat Mission to succeed -- constructing toilets not just in rural areas but also in the cities. Without any penalties, the campaign has borne positive results, in large part due to better infrastructure.

