The amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, which came into effect from Sept 1, has generated immense heat because of the enhanced penalties for violation of the road traffic rules. Several schools in the national capital are closed on Thursday as transporters have 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 & Punjab - have either rejected implementation of the new Motor Vehicles  Act or have watered down the penalties.

Out of these 12 states, 4 (one-third) belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the ruling party at the Centre, 4 to the Congress & the remaining 4 to other political parties.

Of the four Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, UK & Jharkhand - while Maharashtra & Jharkhand will face assembly elections later this year. However, Gujarat & UK haven't enforced the new Motor vehicle Act despite the 2 states not going to polls until early 2022.

Out of the remaining 8 states, 4 - MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan & Punjab - are ruled by the Congress while the other 4 by as many other parties.

While Odisha is ruled by Biju Janata Dal, Kerala is ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), West Bengal by Trinamool Congress & Telangana by Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

This shows the new Motor vehicle Act isn't popular among states cutting across political lines. No other legislation of the Modi govt in the last more than 3 years has witnessed as stiff resistance as the new Motor vehicle Act.

However, while Union road transport & highways minister Nitin Gadkari has defended the new traffic rules, there are at least three reasons why they weren't needed.

Behavioural change
The Narendra Modi govt’s Swachh Bharat Mission & campaign against the use of single-use plastic (SUP) could have been the model to bring about behavioural changes in people.

Modi spoke about ‘clean India’ campaign while hoisting the national flag for the 1st time as PM from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day in 2014. He launched Swachh Bharat campaign on Oct 2, Gandhi Jayanti, the same year.

The campaign has yielded positive results by bringing about behavioural changes & without levying any fine or enhancing them.

By wielding the broom & inspiring his ministers & govt officials, he inspired the common people to care about cleanliness.

On Independence Day this year, PM Modi announced the launch of campaign to discard single-use plastic. The campaign would be launched on Oct 2, on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

In this too, Modi has exhorted the people to say no to single-use plastic by carrying cloth or jute bag with them to shopping. He has also appealed to the shopkeepers to stop giving items in single-use plastics & even start selling cloth & jute bags.

The call has been been taken enthusiastically by the people.

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

Open defecation & littering could have been checked easily if enhancing fines & penalties were the answer.

Hiked penalties may have some more deterrence but the number of violations might still be lower if there is a behavioural change.

Police presence
Ever since the new traffic rules have been implemented, the presence of traffic police has suddenly increased. Traffic police personnel are now visible even at places where no one would have seen them ever till the new Motor Vehicle Act was enforced.

Mere police visibility has forced the people to obey traffic rules.

If the same traffic police personnel would have remained present on previous occasions, the govt might not have been required to enhance the penalties.

The greater presence of traffic police personnel has forced the people to question their motive.

A solution lies in increasing the police visibility rather than increasing the penalties. However, there is a rider - that bribery should be checked.

Infrastructure
The govt has gone ahead with increasing the penalties without the required infrastructure. Enhancing the penalties muti-fold without placing required infrastructure is like putting cart before the horse.

For instance, the administration throughout the country, & more so in the rural areas, does n't have the required equipment & Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to check over-speeding & dangerous driving. There are many other such violations which are hard to be pin-pointed based on visual proof.

On the other hand, the govt has been building infrastructure for the Swachh Bharat Mission to succeed. Besides the advertisement, it has been constructing toilets not just in rural areas but also in the cities.

The campaign, without any penalties, has borne positive results. Several states & districts have been declared open defecation free (ODF).

The local bodies have not just placed garbage containers but also introduced blue & green containers for segregation of organic with non-organic wastes. The people are also being educated about organic & non-organic waste. This too is having the desired impact.

The same with traffic penalties - the govt could have tried to introduce behavioural change, ensured visibility of traffic police personnel & built up infrastructure instead of increasing the penalties multi-fold, even by 10 times.

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