Truck driver fined Rs. 2L in Delhi; biggest challan yet
Weeks after the amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act, a truck driver in Delhi was slapped with a Rs. 2 lakh fine on Wednesday, the biggest challan yet. According to reports, the driver, identified as Ram Kishan, was issued a challan of Rs 2,00,500 for multiple violations under the MV Act on Wednesday night near Mukarba Chowk. Here are more details.
The truck, which is registered in Haryana, was stopped by Delhi Traffic police at the GT Karnal Road. According to India Today, Kishan was carrying a permit to carry load up to 25 tonnes, but the weight of the load was found to be 43 tonnes. Kishan was slapped with a fine of Rs. 2,00,500 which he paid at the Rohini court on Thursday.
A major component of the Rs. 2L challan was overloading, for which, Kishan was fined Rs. 20,000 and an additional Rs. 36,000 (Rs. 2,000 for each extra tonne over limit). He was also fined for traveling without registration certificate (Rs. 10,000), fitness certificate (Rs. 10,000), pollution under control certificate (Rs. 10,000), driving license (Rs. 5,000), and insurance (Rs. 4,000), The Times of India reported.
Furthermore, he was fined for traveling with uncovered construction material (Rs. 20,000), a permit violation (Rs. 10,000), and not wearing a seatbelt (Rs. 1,000). This, along with an almost equal fine imposed on the truck's owner, resulted in the total challan amount of Rs. 2,00,500.
The incident comes days after a Rajasthan truck driver paid a hefty Rs. 1.41 lakh fine on Monday at Rohini court in New Delhi for violations last week. Earlier this month, another truck driver in Odisha was slapped with a steep fine of Rs. 86,500 for multiple violations. However, the driver managed to bring it down to Rs. 70,000 after negotiating with officials.
Notably, the amended MV Act came into force on September 1. However, only a few states have implemented the Act in its entirety, while others have put it on hold or plan to reduce penalties. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday that states have the authority to revise the fines under MV Act if they wish to do so.
On Wednesday, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said that the Delhi government will take a "conscious decision" on giving residents some respite from the steep penalties. However, he added, that the government is not planning to "dilute" the hiked penalties as of now.
