‘UP to keep old fine rates under the MV Act for now’: Transport Minister

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Updated: Sep 13, 2019 09:30 IST

Uttar Pradesh transport minister Ashok Kataria announced on Thursday that the state government was sticking to old rates of fines under the Motor Vehicles Act “for now”.

Talking to reporters in Hamirpur, he said: “We are relaxing the fines ‘for now’. We are sticking to old fines under Motor Vehicles Act. We will wait for the Centre to give its final nod.”

The minister was responding to questions related to the public outcry over the hefty fines that have been imposed for traffic violations.

Congress, SP criticise hike

Meanwhile, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party criticised the new penalties for breaking traffic rules.

The Congress urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to cut the fines by 50 to 75 percent before implementing them in Uttar Pradesh. Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, in a letter to Adityanath, said the police was indulging in loot in the name of recovering the penalties, which, he said, in many cases exceeded the total cost of the vehicles.

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav accused the government of taking impractical decisions that had been causing people pain and trouble.

While attacking the central government for enhancing the traffic violation penalties, he also said that it was wrong on the part of the government to cut salary hikes of Isro scientists.

He said: “The Isro scientists are being punished for failure of Chandrayaan mission. The salary hike cuts would demoralise the scientists. While the entire country is with Isro scientists, the government should hug Isro scientists for real instead of demoralising them by pay cuts. Patriots in the country are hurt with this step of the government.”