Discuss the salient features of The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and anomalies, if any. (200 words)
Refer – The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
Shankaranand 6 years
Please Review,
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IAS Parliament 6 years
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
Salient features
· Good Samaritans – People coming forward to help accident victims will be protected from civil or criminal liability.
· It will also be optional for them to disclose their identity to the police or medical personnel.
· Accountability – Contractors, consultants and civic agencies will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads leading to accidents.
· Manufacturers can be fined up to Rs 500 crore in case of sub-standard components or engine.
· Removal of intermediaries – The Bill seeks to take the license issuing process online. Tests for driving licences will be automated, and learner’s licences will be issued online.
· Fund – A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund is proposed to be created. It will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.
· Penalties & Compensation – The penalties for violations and compensation to families have been increased substantially from the present amounts.
· Aggregators – Aggregators are as yet unregulated in India, and this Bill seeks to change that.
· This Bill made it optional for State governments to follow central guidelines while issuing licences to aggregators.
· Aggregators, however, now have to be compliant with the Information Technology Act, 2000.
· Insurance - The Bill removes the cap on liability for third-party insurance introduced in the 2016 version of the Bill.
Concerns
· Some state governments are concerned about the new provisions, Sections 66A and 88A.
· This will empower the Centre to form a National Transportation Policy.
· Notably, it would be through a process of consultation, and not concurrence.
· It will also enable Centrally-drafted schemes for national, multi-modal and inter-State movement of goods and passengers, for rural mobility and even last-mile connectivity.
· The provisions would bring in a new paradigm that would overhaul the sector, and hence the States see it as anti-federal.
· Clearly the issue is not one of legislative competence as the subject is in the Concurrent List.
· So clearly, parliament can make a law defining powers available to the States.
· The opposition is thus more due to the perceived shift of power from the States to the Centre.
